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| Mutharika re-elected Malawi President
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By Raphael Tenthani,
PANA Correspondent
Blantyre, Malawi (PANA) -
With 93.25 per cent of Tuesday presidential votes coun
ted, incumbent Malawi President Bingu wa Mutharika, candidate of the governing D
e
mocratic Progressive Party (DPP), has scored a surprise landslide win, seeing of
f
main challenger John Tembo by 2,730,630 - or 66 per cent of the counted votes -
to 1, 270, 057, representing 31 per cent.
"As the outstanding votes cannot in any way affect the results, the Commission h
as decided to announce the interim results at this point in time and
declare the leading candidate duly elected," said the Malawi Electoral Commissio
n chairperson, Supreme Court of Appeal judge Anastansia Msosa
at exactly 1 am local time Friday (23 hours GMT).
"As the outstanding votes cannot affect the outcome, I, Justice Anastansia Msosa
, with powers vested in me as chairperson of the Malawi Electoral
Commission, therefore declare Bingu, otherwise known as Dr. Bingu wa Mutharika,
President of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), winner of
the 2009 presidential election."
On the parliamentary results, the commission has certified 133 of the 193 seats
that make up Malawi's Parliament. Out of these, Mutharika's DPP scooped
78 seats against the MCP's 18.
The former ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) of former president Bakili Muluz
i has got only 12 seats. The northern-based Alliance for Democracy (Aford)
managed a single seat, just like little-known Malawi Forum for Unity and Develop
ment (MAFUNDE). Twenty three seats went to independent candidates.
There were five other presidential candidates in the race, including Malawi's fi
rst-ever woman presidential candidate Loveness Gondwe, 42, and an independent
James Nyondo, 40. They shared three per cent of the votes among them.
Soon after she made the announcement, the over 100 DPP supporters, clad in the p
arty's official blue colour, erupted into a spontaneous cheer and broke
into song and dance.
"The works of your hands have spoken for you, bwana!" shouted a middle-aged man.
"I am glad Bingu's development will continue!"
"My children are safe!" shouted another. "The opposition has no agenda for the n
ation. They were just interested in ousting Bingu."
Tembo, candidate for the main opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) Thursday an
nounced he would reject the polls if the Commission announced them, claiming
massive vote stuffing and other irregularities.
"These elections have been rigged," he told a press conference at his residence
in the capital, Lilongwe. "The result was extra-ordinary, very very unusual
even without going into details. Any politician would consider these results ext
ra-ordinary. If the population of a county is 50 million and you win by 54
million that is extra-ordinary. These results are extra-ordinary; it's unbelieva
ble."
Tembo, who has written the Malawi Electoral Commission to stop announcing the of
ficial results, said he had information that in some constituencies Mutharika
and his parliamentary candidates won by far greater that the number of registere
d voters.
He said his lawyers were working on an injunction to stop the process, adding: "
We can't accept to be cheated."
While acknowledging "some challenges" during the electoral process, like difficu
lties in coming up with a clean voters' roll, Msosa, however, commended Malawian
s
for holding a peaceful election.
"I would like to appeal to those that have been successful to celebrate peaceful
ly (and) for those who have lost, in this particular election, I would like to a
s
k them to
accept defeat and support the winners for the good of the nation and there is al
ways the next election," she said.
Meanwhile, the department of information has announced that swearing in ceremony
of the re-elected Mutharika is due later Friday morning.
Foreign heads of state and government have already started arriving for the cere
mony, with Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, Zambian leader Rupiya Banda
and Tanzanian Vice-President Ali Mohammed Shein already in Blantyre.
Mozambican President Armando Guebuza was scheduled to arrive later Friday. South
Africa, Rwanda, Swaziland and Lesotho are also expected to send
representatives.
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| Blantyre - 22/05/2009 |
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