Malawi election tight as Chakwera-Mutharika face off

Millions of Malawians went to the polls on Tuesday in a tightly contested presidential election that pits incumbent Lazarus Chakwera against his predecessor Peter Mutharika in a vote dominated by economic hardship and public frustration. Voting began at 6:00 a.m. local time across the southern African nation, where roughly 7.2 million registered voters were eligible to choose a president, members of parliament and more than 500 local councillors.

Seventeen candidates are on the presidential ballot, but the race is widely seen as a rematch between 70-year-old Chakwera and his former rival, Mutharika, now in his eighties. Under a revised electoral law the winner must secure more than 50 percent of the vote, making a second round likely if no candidate clears the threshold. Officials said provisional results from the first round are expected within days, with final announcements due within a week and, if necessary, a runoff to follow within 60 days.

The campaign unfolded against an acute economic crisis. Inflation has surged into the high twenties or low thirties percent range, fuel and foreign currency shortages persist, and recent climate disasters have devastated harvests. A...