The Malawian president on Thursday demanded a vote recount after alleging the national election had been marred by rigging, including a failure to inspect voter registers at some polling centers.
The election commission dismissed her allegation, however.
Maxon Mbendera, head of Malawi's election commission, said the vote was fair and that the panel will have a “clear picture” of the outcome as counting proceeds over the next few days.
“The postponed vote was just one percent of the entire vote. [The election is] extremely ... fair,” Mbendera said.
Eleven candidates are vying to unseat incumbent President Joyce Banda who is also seeking re-election.
Her main challenger is Lazarus Chakwera, a conservative evangelical pastor who retired to lead the Malawi Congress Party. Banda became southern Africa's first female head of state two years ago.
Most analysts believe she is very likely to win because of her popularity in rural areas where the government has been rolling out development projects and farm subsidy schemes.
However, Banda’s popularity has been marred by austerity measures and a corruption scandal.
The cashgate scandal has led to the suspension of USD 150 million in foreign aid pending further investigation.
Although not directly linked to Banda, the corruption scandal may dent her chances of retaining power.
The southeast African country has 7.4 million registered voters in a population of 16 million.
Follow us on Telegram
t.me/apanewsaz
Follow us on Instagram
Follow us on TikTok
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on X
