Malawians go to the polls for a presidential rerun election on Tuesday 23 June with strong indications that President Peter Mutharika should be defeated by his main challenger Lazarus Chakwera – in a free and fair election. But lingering doubts remain about whether Mutharika will allow that to happen.
Mutharika raised suspicions of possible interference when he tried earlier this month to get rid of two judges who had annulled his election last May. He officially won with just 38.5% of the vote but Chakwera, the leader of the Malawi Congress Party who officially came second with 35% and Mutharika’s former vice-president, Sauloswho came third with 20%, challenged that result in court.
The court called for the elections to be rerun within 150 days. In the meantime, Chakwera and Chilema have joined forces to form the Tonse Alliance with Chakwera as its presidential candidate and Chilema as his running mate. Mutharika, leader of the governing Democratic Progressive Party has picked Atupele Muluzi, of the United Democratic Front , as his running mate. He is the son of former President Bakili Muluzi, who governed Malawi from 1994 to 1999.
“Fortunately, Tuesday’s election is like a run-off already,” he said. That was because this was effectively a “two-horse race” as Chakwera and Chilema – who won a combined 55% of the vote last year when they were running against each other – had since joined forces to form the Tonse Alliance against Mutharika’s alliance.
The court called the MEC “incompetent” and earlier this month Mutharika appointed a new one – though retaining two members of the old one. However, Mutharika also appointed four commissioners who had been nominated by his DPP party and only two nominated by Chakwera’s MCP. Dulani said he could not be sure that Mutharika would “not try to throw another spanner in the works, but it seems too late”.
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