The head of the Malawi electoral committee has warned the political parties not to explain the election victory prematurely, saying that they must wait for the official results.
Annabel Malimanja’s warning came after the parties of the two most important presidential candidates, the sitting Lazarus Chakwera and his predecessor Peter Mutharika, claimed that they had won Tuesday’s poll.
During a press conference on Thursday, Mrs. Malimanja said that only the committee was instructed to release results.
Malawians have eagerly waiting for the results, but the committee has not yet released – despite the fact that almost all votes have been counted.
The committee is expected to announce the outcome only after all voices have been added and verified to prevent the end result from being challenged.
A candidate must win more than 50% of the votes, or a run-off is held.
The 2019 elections were marred by controversy when the highest court of justice, then President Mutharika, canceled the victory of Mutharika, with reference to widespread irregularities.
Chakwera, 70, won the repeat with a broad margin and pushed him to the presidency.
Mutharika, 85, hopes to regain the office in what a dramatic political comeback would be.
Malawians also voted in parliamentary and local elections after a campaign dominated by the deteriorating economic crisis that has seen a serious shortage of fuel and foreign currency.
The official inflation percentage is almost 30%, with a frozen chicken in a supermarket in the capital, Lilongwe, which costs around $ 20 (£ 15), in a nation where most people live on $ 2 a day or less.
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