Overview

• The Malawi Electoral Committee says it has counted more than 99% of votes but has not declared results, with the chair stressing the process will not be rushed.
• Officials from the Malawi Congress Party and the Democratic Progressive Party separately claimed victory before any official announcement.
• Independent snapshots from party centers, observers, and monitors place Lazarus Chakwera around 47–49% and Peter Mutharika around 43–45%.
• Malawi’s rules require a candidate to secure more than 50% of votes to win, and a runoff is mandated if no one crosses that threshold.
• A second round would be the first presidential runoff under the 50%+1 system adopted after the 2020 rerun, with results due within seven days of voting.