Malawi decides: Is president Mutharika loosing presidency to Tonse alliance

Malawi decides: Is president Mutharika loosing presidency to Tonse alliance.

About 6.8 million people were eligible to vote in Tuesday’s rerun, practically a two-horse race between Professor Peter Mutharika and opposition leader Dr Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera.

A third candidate, Peter Kuwani, was also in the running.

The election is much anticipated after the Constitutional Court on 3rd February, 2020, ruled that the May 2019 vote was fraught with “grave and widespread irregularities”, including the use of correction fluid on results sheets.

The Court in Lilongwe, ordered new elections be held within 150 days of its February, 2020, ruling.

Mutharika slammed the verdict as a “serious miscarriage of justice” and, along with the electoral commission, filed an appeal. But on May 8, the Supreme Court upheld the earlier ruling, setting the stage for Malawians to return to the polls again.

On Tuesday election rerun was overwhelmingly participated by the people of Malawi.

According to the earlier results from a few polling stations Tonse Alliance candidate Dr Lazarus Chakwera is trouncing his major competitor in the race incumbent Mutharika.

Lilongwe city, Dr Lazarus Chakwera is leading with 615,329 votes and Professor Mutharika trailing with 89,634 votes.

State House Zopusa Polling station Mutharika has got 194 votes and Dr Lazarus Chakwera has won it with 414 votes .

At Mpemba school polling station Dr Lazarus Chakwera has got 124, and Professor Mutharika scored Three votes.

Who is Dr Lazarus Chakwera

Dr. Lazarus Chakwera was born in Lilongwe, now the capital city of Malawi, on 5 April 1955.

Dr Chakwera was born to a subsistence farmer in the outskirt of Lilongwe city.

Two of his brothers born before him died in infancy.

His father, believing that he would live, gave him the name Lazarus as the Bible character who was raised from the dead.

He is the only son with surviving sisters.

Lazarus Chakwera is married to Monica and together they have four children and grand children.

In 1977 he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Philosophy) Degree from the University of Malawi. He got his honours degree (BTh) from the University of the North, Sovenga, South Africa.

In 1991 he got his masters (MTh), from the University of South Africa.

The Trinity International University, in Deerfield, Illinois, USA awarded him a doctorate (D. Min) in 2000.

The Pan Africa Theological Seminary awarded him professorship in 2005.

He is the president of Malawi Congress Party (MCP) which made an alliance with United Transformation Movement (UTM) led by Dr Saulos Klaus Chilima and other parties to form tje Tonse Alliance.