Blantyre city in Malawi came alive with celebration on Sunday night as people flooded the streets, convinced that Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate Peter Mutharika had been declared the winner of the September 16 elections, even though the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) had yet to announce a victor.
According to MEC’s official figures so far, Mutharika leads with 501,897 votes, representing 61.6 per cent. Lazarus Chakwera of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) trails with 210,037 votes (25.8 per cent), while Dalitso Kabambe of the United Transformation Movement (UTM) sits third with 49,733 votes (6.1 per cent)
It all sparked around 8:39 pm in the commercial city. For instance, Mbayani, the sound of whistles, drums and chanting broke the calm evening. Crowds gathered at Mbayani market with another group at Ndalama Market, singing “Adad omwewo kuti wa wa wa,” before pouring onto the Nyambadwe road, urging each other forward with shouts of “tiyeni kunyumba kwa adad komweko.”
Soon, the fever spread. From nowhere, Blantyre’s clock tower was swallowed by dancing groups waving DPP colours.
Chilomoni echoed with chants, Chirimba’s narrow streets roared with whistles, Machinjiri rattled with drums, and Sochi lit up with crowds in full swing. For hours, the city was draped in noise, song and dust.
But while the streets of Blantyre pulsed with premature victory songs, MEC was still far from declaring a winner. At 10 pm, the commission called a press briefing, releasing partial results for only four more councils, bringing the total to 13 out of 36.
