A onetime South Africa president, Thabo Mbeki, who is the Chairperson of the Commonwealth Observer Group, on Thursday commended the Malawi’s May 21 elections, says it has so far been handled with “professionalism and dedication”.
As Malawians await the results of their general elections, the Commonwealth group observing the polls has applauded the country for ensuring a peaceful electoral process to date.
The contest is still too close to call in a three-way race between incumbent President Peter Mutharika of the Democratic Progressive Party, DPP, deputy president turned opponent Saulos Chilima, and Lazarus Chakwera of the Malawi Congress Party.
According to Mbeki, although the initial pace of tallying was slow, the observer group will continue to follow progress in the days ahead. He stressed the importance of the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) being given the time and space to conclude its work.
Issuing the Group’s interim statement in Blantyre two days after the election, Mbeki said that the opening, voting, closing and counting processes at polling stations have been handled with professionalism and dedication so far.