Kamuzu Chibambo finishes ‘top’

Dust has now settled down on the presidential race in the May 20 Tripartite Elections following the announcement of official results and subsequent swearing-in ceremony of President Peter Mutharika and Vice-President Saulos Chilima at the Judiciary Complex in Blantyre on Saturday.

The Mutharika/Chilima ticket saw off competition from 11 other hopefuls, including former president Joyce Banda who led her People’s Party (PP) to its first general elections since its formation in early 2012 after her expulsion from Mutharika’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

Besides Banda, who finished third with 1 056 236 votes, representing 20.2 percent of the national vote, Mutharika also overcame his closest challenger, new kid on the block preacher-turned-politician Lazarus Chakwera of Malawi Congress Party (MCP) who came second with 1 455 880 votes or 27.8 percent of the vote.

Apparently, Banda became the second incumbent to lose a presidential election in post-single-party rule after founding president Hastings Kamuzu Banda who led MCP in the 1994 general elections won by Bakili Muluzi and United Democratic Front (UDF).

Youthful Atupele Muluzi of UDF finished fourth with 717 224 votes or 13.7 percent, according to official results announced by Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) in Blantyre on Friday night.

There were 5 285 258 votes cast nationwide out of which 5 228 583 were vlaid and 56 675 null and void votes and Mutharika amassed 1 904 399 votes to become the country’s fifth President. In total, there were 7.4 million registered voters, but the turnout was about 70 percent.

The new President follows in the footsteps of his deceased elder brother, Bingu, who was believed to have groomed his younger brother for succession amid resistance from Banda and several others in 2011.

Much has been said and written about the four front-runners in the presidential race won by Mutharika, little has been said about how the eight other hopefuls performed.

The eight “minnows” in the race were Kamuzu Chibambo of People’s Transformation Party (Petra), Mark Katsonga Phiri of People’s Progressive Movement (PPM), John Chisi of Umodzi Party (UP), George Nnensa of Malawi Forum for Devement (Mafunde) who led a coalition under the banner Tisintha Alliance, James Nyondo of National Salvation Front (Nasaf), Helen Signh of United Independence Party (UIP), Friday Jumbe of New Labour Party (NLP) and Davis Katsonga of Chipani Cha Pfuko (CCP).

At the end of the day, Chibambo topped the race in the “minnows” category with 19 360 votes or 0.4 percent of the vote on position five overall followed by Katsonga Phiri with 15 830 votes and Chisi had 12 048 votes.

Nnensa finished eighth overall with 11 042 votes, Nyondo ninth with 10 042 votes, Signh on position 10 with 9 668 votes, Jumbe eleventh with 8 819 votes and Katsonga was last with 7 454 votes.

Collectively, the eight hopefuls outside the top four had 94 844 votes from the 5 228 583 valid votes, according to official results from MEC.

Chibambo and Nyondo also contested in the 2009 general elections whereas the rest were newcomers on the presidential ballot.

This year, Malawi had the highest number of presidential aspirants. To qualify for candidacy, among others, presidential hopefuls are required to collect 100 signatures from each district, be aged 35 or above, be citizens of Malawi and pay a nomination fee of K1 million which is refunded if they get at least five percent of the national vote.

However, from the results given by MEC, it would appear the K8 million collected from the eight aspirants outside the top four was a lost investment to the hopefuls and their political parties as none of them reached the five percent mark.

Only Mutharika, Chakwera, Banda and Atupele stand to get refunds of a cool K1 million each, according to the results.