Nomsa Maseko
BBC Africa, Lilongwe

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

This can be seen more as a rejection of Lazarus Chakwera than a victory for Peter Mutharika.

Under President Chakwera, Malawi's list of problems just grew too long. Longer, even, than the snaking queues outside petrol stations as fuel shortages crippled the economy.

So, winning a second term would have been nothing short of a miracle.

Corruption on a grand scale, a weak economy, high living costs, frequent power cuts and a shortage of foreign currency pushed Malawians to look elsewhere for leadership.

Although these same problems existed during Mutharika's tenure, they worsened under Chakwera.

Thus Mutharika's campaign mantra - "a return to proven leadership" - resonated with Malawian voters.

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Once sworn in, Peter Mutharika, 85, will be the second-oldest president in Africa after Cameroon's Paul Biya, 92.

Biya is the only nonagenarian at the helm of an African state, and is set to seek an eighth term in elections in October.

But there are several octogenarians to keep Mutharika company, including:

• Ivory Coast's Alassane Ouattara and Equatorial Guinea's Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who are both 83
• Zimbabwe's Emmerson Mnangagwa and Uganda's Yoweri Museveni, who are 81, and
• Liberia's Joseph Boakai, 80.

Ouattara is running for a fourth term in October's elections, while Museveni hopes to extend his nearly 40 years in power in election's next year.

Peter Jegwa
Lilongwe, Malawi

During the campaign, rivals of 85-year-old Mutharika attempted to make his age, and apparent lack of fitness, a major issue.

Chakwera travelled the length and breadth of Malawi, visiting each of the country's 229 constituencies since campaigning officially started in mid-July.

Mutharika, on the other hand, undertook his first campaign tour in late August, less than a month before the election, when he made one long trip from his family home in the lakeside district of Mangochi in the south-east of the country to the north.

Mutharika travelled by road, making brief stops on the way, greeting supporters and making campaign speeches.

On the final day of campaigning, Chakwera's Malawi Congress Party (MCP) emphasised his perceived lack of stamina.

A senior party official, Richard Chimwendo Banda, told cheering supporters that Chakwera had addressed 421 meetings compared to Mutharika's 17.

As it turned out, Mutharika's fitness, or lack of it, did not matter to Malawian voters.

They were most concerned about the economy, which worsened under Chakwera's presidency.

"You missed me, right?" Mutharika told voters in his short campaign speeches.

The result suggests they did.

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Jane Ansah - Peter Mutharika’s running mate and now Vice-President-designate - is a former Supreme Court judge and the country's first female attorney-general.

She was the head of the electoral commission when the Constitutional Court annulled Mutharika’s initial victory in 2019 over widespread electoral irregularities. Ansah resigned in the wake of that ruling, and Mutharika lost the rerun that was held the following year.

Ms Ansah was accused of mismanaging the flawed 2019 election, but she insisted that her resignation was not an admission of wrongdoing, nor was it because of public pressure - despite being the target of protests calling for her to quit.

“I don’t regret, I did the best,” she was quoted as saying at the time.

Her selection earlier this year as Mutharika’s running mate generated widespread debate. Mutharika acknowledged that some would be unhappy with the decision, but he defended her integrity and a person with a “deep love for this country”.

“She is someone who has experience to assist me in running this country,” he said.

According to the constitution, Ms Ansah, 69, will be first in line to succeed the 85-year-old president should he be removed from office, die, or resign.

Appearing very keen to see the back of Chakwera, a group of men in Lilongwe ripped the outgoing president's head off a huge billboard and began stamping on it.

"Achoke!" they chanted, which means "he must go" in the local Chichewa language.

Earlier, we reported that the official announcement of the election results had been postponed until some time this evening.

The Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) has now specified that the results will be declared at 19:00 local time (17:00 GMT).

In his address to the nation ealier today, Chakwera said there were "irregularities" and "anomalies" in vote-counting, but not to the extent that it affected Mutharika's victory.

"The anomalies do not necessarily mean that the election result projecting Professor Mutharika as the winner is not credible or a reflection of the will of the people," he said.

Chakwera added that he still wanted the commission to provide "a full and transparent account" of the "irregularities".

This may be why the electoral commission has not announced the final result.

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Here's a round-up of what's been happening in Malawi as the nation eagerly awaits the official declaration of presidential election results:

• President Lazarus Chakwera has accepted defeat in a live address to the nation
• He says ex-President Peter Mutharika has taken an "insurmountable" lead, and he has phoned him to congratulate him
• Mutharika governed Malawi from 2014 to 2020, when he lost to Chakwera
• All banks and most shops in the capital Lilongwe are shut for the day as there were concerns about possible protests
• But Malawi has remained peaceful, with Chakwera promising a smooth transfer of power
• The electoral commission says it is still checking the results before making an official announcement
• Chakwera had earlier raised concerns of "anomalies", and said he expected the commission to address them, even if he had lost.

Peter Jegwa
Lilongwe, Malawi

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

Aged 85, Mutharika ran a short campaign with short speeches.

Speaking to voters in the local Chichewa language, he kept repeating two phrases: "You missed me, right?" and "You have suffered, right?"

It was a message that resonated with voters who, under the Chakwera presidency, saw the economy go downhill as the cost-of-living crisis worsened, with food prices rising sharply.

Plus there were fuel shortages, constant electricity blackouts and dwindling foreign reserves.

Nomsa Maseko
BBC Africa, Lilongwe

Some of Peter Mutharika's supporters have gathered outside parliament, which is next to the national tally centre.

However, the military is blocking them from entering. They presumably want to get into the tally centre for the official declaration of results by the electoral commission.

The tally centre is in the Bingu wa Mutharika International Convention Centre.

Bingu was the brother of Peter, and was president until he died in office in 2012.

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Chakwera's party says that Malawi has "shown the world the beauty of democracy and the strength of true leadership".

Known as the Malawi Congress Party (MCP), it praised Chakwera for accepting defeat at the hands of his long-time rival, Peter Mutharika.

The MCP points out in its statement , externalthat Chakwera did this "in world where political contests often descend into bitterness and conflict".

It adds that in conceding, Chakwera has "demonstrated that leadership is not about clinging to power at all costs, but about serving the people faithfully - even in loss".

Nomsa Maseko
BBC Africa, Lilongwe

Hundreds of Mutharika's supporters are celebrating in the streets of the capital, Lilongwe.

Motorists can be heard beeping their horns and playing loud music, while pedestrians dance, sing and chant "adadi", which means father in the local Chichewa language.

The victory parade is growing as people continue to join them. Some are ripping down Chakwera election posters along the way while others are waving the flag of Mutharika’s party, the DPP.

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Earlier, we reported that the official election results would be released this afternoon, but the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) now says their declaration will come some time in the evening.

Moments ago commission spokesperson Sangwani Mwafulirwa appeared on the state-run Malawi Broadcasting Corporation channel, urging the public to be patient.

He said the delay was a result of "complaints" lodged with the commission.

“If there are complaints outstanding the commission cannot proceed to declare a final winner,” Mwafulirwa said.

Nomsa Maseko
BBC Africa, Lilongwe

All banks and most shops in Malawi's capital Lilongwe are shut today.

This is in anticipation of the official declaration of the winner of last week's presidential election.

In a statement, the Bankers Association of Malawi (BAM) said that banks across the country would shut for the day "to facilitate enhanced security measures" ahead of the result being announced by the electoral commission.

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Mutharika, an 85-year-old former lawyer and law lecturer, led Malawi from 2014 to 2020.

He is the brother of the late President Bingu wa Mutharika, who died in office in 2012.

Like Chakwera, Mutharika is also burdened by corruption allegations and links to economic crises.

However, his supporters argued that the current high inflation rate (around 27%) is proof that Mutharika managed the economy better than his successor, and this was the main reason for his victory.

Read his full profile here

In the coming days and weeks, Chakwera will begin to prepare his office for Mutharika.

"I am fully committed to facilitate a peaceful transfer of power," he stated in his address to the nation.

Mutharika's supporters celebrated at the national results centre when they heard Chakwera had conceded, Reuters news agency reports.

In a live address to the nation, Chakwera pledged a peaceful transfer of power to Mutharika who, aged 85, has made a major political comeback.

He served as president from 2014 to 2020, when he lost to Chakwera.

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Chakwera, a former theology lecturer and preacher, had no political experience when he emerged as leader of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) in 2013.

When he ran for president in 2014 he was unsuccessful, but in 2020 he triumphed, beating the incumbent, Mutharika, in an unprecedented re-run.

Chakwera's time in office has been marred by economic turmoil and allegations of corruption.

The 70-year-old did, however, reintroduce train services in Malawi for the first time in over three decades. He has also overseen major road construction across the country.

This is a major concession by Chakwera. He has gracefully accepted defeat rather than rejecting the result.

He went as far as to say that results announced so far show that Mutharika had taken an "insurmountable" lead.

Malawians will be relieved that the election has not been marred by disputes and protests.

Nomsa Maseko
BBC Africa, Lilongwe

Chakwera says he has phoned Mutharika to congratulate him on his "historic win".

He confirmed that he approached the courts yesterday to try and stop the results from being announced but said he accepts the court's ruling that the electoral commission must go ahead and announce the results.

Chakwera also said: "Malawians, whether you're on the losing or winning side, please remain peaceful."