Peter Mutharika was sworn in as Malawi’s president on Tuesday for a second five-year term. The oath-taking ceremony was held just a day after the Electoral Commission declared Mutharika the winner of the May 21 general elections. Everton Chimulirenji was also sworn in as vice president at the same ceremony, reported News 24.
The 78-year-old incumbent leader of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) got 38.57 percent of the votes, while his opponent Lazarus Chakwera leader of opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) just trailed behind with 35.41 percent of the votes. Vice President Saulos Chilima of the opposition United Transformation Movement Party came third with 20.24 percent of the votes.
After taking the oath, Mutharika urged the opposition and all political leaders who contested the May elections to move forward and join him in rebuilding the country.
“I also want to thank leaders of various political parties who competed with me in this election,” he said. “Most of them have accepted that there is only one winner at a time. So, it’s now time to move on. The election is over; there is a time to fight, there is a time to unite.”
Mutharika was declared as the winner on Monday after the Malawi high court lifted an injunction barring the release of the results. During the weekend, the MCP had obtained a temporary injunction at the weekend to halt the release of results over alleged vote-rigging claims, use of correction fluid to change results and the issue of some presiding officers going away with result sheets.
Mutharika dismissed all the doubts over the outcome, saying international observers had deemed the May 21 election “peaceful, free and fair.”
“It is the victory of the rule of law and the rule of democracy,” he said. “Democracy has won.”
The total voting turnout was 74 percent of 6.8 million registered voters.
