Zim GBC News Network<\/p>\n\n\n\n
LILONGWE, Malawi \u2013 In a significant political development, Malawi’s President Lazarus Chakwera conceded defeat in the country’s presidential election on Wednesday, just hours before the final official results were to be announced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The concession paves the way for a return to power for his predecessor, 85-year-old Peter Mutharika. Official results from the September 16 vote showed Mutharika had built a commanding lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a national address, Chakwera acknowledged the will of the people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is only right that I concede defeat out of respect for your will as citizens and out of respect for the constitution,\u201d Chakwera stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI am fully committed to \u2026 a peaceful transfer of power.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While noting his camp was unhappy with certain “anomalies” in the vote counting, he admitted they were insufficient to alter the outcome. He drew a sports analogy to explain his decision:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEven in sports, foul play does not mean the final score is not a true reflection of the game\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The announcement triggered celebrations among Mutharika’s supporters at the national results centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This election was the fourth consecutive presidential contest between the two political rivals. Mutharika won in 2014 and 2019, though the latter victory was annulled by the constitutional court due to widespread irregularities. Chakwera then won the historic re-run in 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Political analysts had predicted a strong challenge from Mutharika, as Chakwera\u2019s term was marked by significant economic hardship. Malawi has faced inflation above 20% for over three years, exacerbated by a devastating cyclone and a severe regional drought that crippled agriculture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nearly three-quarters of the population lives in poverty, according to the World Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Follow Zim GBC News for breaking updates:
\u00b7 X (Twitter): @ZimGbc
\u00b7 Instagram: @ZimGBCNews
\u00b7 TikTok: @ZimGBCNews_01
\u00b7 Facebook: Zim GBC News
\u00b7 YouTube: Zim GBC News<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Get real-time alerts on WhatsApp:
+263 773 820 323<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zim GBC News<\/strong> | Global News From An African Perspective\u00a92025<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Zim GBC News Network LILONGWE, Malawi \u2013 In a significant political development, Malawi’s President Lazarus Chakwera conceded defeat in the country’s presidential election on Wednesday, just hours before the final… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9542,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[109],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9541","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9541"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9541\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9543,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9541\/revisions\/9543"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9542"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}