Elections Malawi, historic victory of the opposition leader

“This is a victory for African democracy. My heart bursts with joy.” These are the first words of the new president of Malawi, Lazarus Ch ascended. Among the poorest states on the continent, the African country has succeeded where other states on the continent have failed before. Following the new elections held a week ago, after the 2019 elections were canceled by the Constitutional Court for fraud, opposition leader Chakwera won by a good margin. After six years in office, an infuriated Peter Mutharika leave the presidential chair to his usual enemy.

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Chakwera got 58 percent of the vote while last year he had lost about 160,000 votes. Supported by his coalition, the former professor of philosophy and theology has filed an appeal. On February 3, the Court’s ruling: new elections. Several cases of modified ballots had emerged, in which the votes had been canceled with the bianchetto. Mutharika, in power since 2014, had won with 38.7% of the votes against 35.4 of her challenger. Chakwera was sworn in as new president today: “I solemnly swear that I will perform the functions of the high office of the President of the Republic of Malawi well and sincerely and that I will preserve and defend the Constitution,” he said during the ceremony in the capital Lilongwe.

The Malawi case is unique across the continent. Other states had the elections canceled, but that the opposition leader won them in the second round had never happened. The first case of annulment by the Constitutional Court was sensational. It happened in Kenya in 2017, when opposition leader Raila Odinga contested the victory of his eternal challenger Uhuru Kenyatta. The court then called new elections due to fraud, but the second round still saw Kenyatta win once again.

Pentecostal preacher, Chakwera inherits a very demanding situation after months and months of political conflict and demonstrations across the country. At the head of a coalition of nine parties, the Tonse Alliance, he had the support of the former president Joyce Banda and the vice president, Saulos Chilima, once Mutharika’s right hand man.

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