Malawi counting votes amid sparks of tension

By Joseph Kayira

Vote counting in Malawi entered the second day after Tuesday’s General Election with two leading camps – ruling Malawi Congress Party and main opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) – claiming early victory in unofficial results. But the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) warned that while various stakeholders are free to do their own parallel tallying, the Commission urges for discipline and meticulousness in their work.

At a press briefing Tuesday in Lilongwe, MCP spokesperson Jessie Kabwila told supporters that President Lazarus Chakwera would win the presidential poll but did not elaborate. In this election Chakwera is seeking reelection and faces DPP’s Peter Mutharika – the candidate he is facing for the fourth time in a presidential poll.

She said: “Victory is ours and victory is certain. The people have spoken. But we will patiently wait for MEC to announce the results.”

Kabwira: Victory is ours, victory is certain (Photo Credit: Nyasatimes)

Kabwila added that the party’s confidence was at an all-time high and that “we are asking our supporters not to get involved in any form of violence.”

In reaction, Mutharika’s party also held a press briefing at Golden Peacock Hotel Tuesday afternoon announcing that their candidate had made inroads to MCP’s stronghold in central Malawi. DPP officials claimed that Mutharika was poised to win the presidency with a significant percentage, adding “unofficial results put Mutharika ahead of the two frontrunners.”

DPP vice president for central region, Alfred Gangata said: “While MEC will announce official results, what we have tabulated from our tally centre gives Mutharika an edge over Chakwera.

“Counting is going on. We respect the fact that it is MEC’s mandate to announce the official results. However, it is not a crime to have unofficial results. Afterall, we believe that what we have will be exactly what the official results will capture.”

According to the new electoral law, if no candidate wins more than 50 percent of the valid vote, a run-off will be held within 60 days.

Gangata: Unofficial results show that we are ahead (Photo Credit: APA)

MEC’s Mtalimanja said elections are serious business and stakeholders should refrain from throwing into the public domain crude and rudimentary calculations. The public is also urged to consider everything shared as unofficial until the final results is released by the Commission.

“As a reminder the mandate rests with the Commission to declare winner. It will be the results of the Commission that determine who is declared winner on all the three elections,” Mtalimanja said. “The Commission will not hurry the results management process just because some political party leaders and candidates are piling up pressure for release of the results. Each and every vote will be subject to due process to ensure its validity and credibility.”

Mtalimanja said the Commission is aware that emotions can run high as the nation eagerly awaits the outcome of the election. She warned that “any individual or group that attempts to perpetrate violence, intimidate officials, or disrupt the smooth counting and transmission of results will be dealt with firmly and swiftly according to the law. Security officers have been deployed in sufficient numbers, and both the police and the army are on high alert to respond to any threats.”