The historic rerun of Malawi�s presidential election has been won by the opposition, Lazarus Chakwera, for the first time a court in Africa overturned an election.
Lazarus Chakwera�s victory was as a result of months of determined street protests and a unanimous constitutional court decision that the May 2019 vote had widespread irregularities and could not stand.
Chakwera won with 2.6 million votes out of 4.4 million cast.
President Peter Mutharika, who had sought a second five-year term, called this new election flawed but has urged the country to �move on peacefully�.
The Malawi Human Right Commission, one of the observers, has said the election was peaceful and transparent.
On Saturday June 27 2020, electoral commission chairman Chifundo Kachale told journalists: �The commission declares that Lazarus Chakwera, having attained 58.57% of the vote, has been duly elected as the president of Malawi.�
The announcement was met with loud cheers and applause as opposition supporters waved Malawi�s red, black and green flag and chanted �Government!� in local Chichewa.
�This is a win for Malawians, it is a win for democracy, a win for justice,� said an elated Chakwera after his victory was declared.
�It is a win that will enable this nation to really reset and begin to build a new kind of Malawi in which all of us together will be involved.�
