{"id":121985,"date":"2025-09-24T12:05:33","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T12:05:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/index.php\/2025\/09\/24\/chakwera-accepts-election-defeat-promises-mutharika-peaceful-transition\/"},"modified":"2025-09-24T12:05:33","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T12:05:33","slug":"chakwera-accepts-election-defeat-promises-mutharika-peaceful-transition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/chakwera-accepts-election-defeat-promises-mutharika-peaceful-transition\/","title":{"rendered":"Chakwera accepts election defeat, promises Mutharika peaceful transition"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 24 \u2013 Malawi\u2019s President Lazarus Chakwera has formally conceded defeat in the presidential election, paving the way for his rival, Professor Peter Mutharika of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), to become the nation\u2019s seventh president.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Speaking at Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe on Wednesday, Chakwera, 70, said the results announced so far by the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) made it clear that Mutharika had secured an \u201cinsurmountable lead\u201d and was the presumptive winner.<\/p>\n

\u201cA moment ago, I called Professor Mutharika directly to congratulate him on his historic victory and to wish him well in his upcoming tenure,\u201d Chakwera declared.<\/p>\n

\u201cI accept the results of the presidential election that the MEC has already validated and released, just as I will accept the final tally that the Commission is scheduled to announce at 2pm.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chakwera, who has served as Malawi\u2019s sixth president since 2020, acknowledged the disappointment of his supporters but emphasized that conceding was the right step in upholding the Constitution and the will of Malawians.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo those who supported my re-election, I will forever be grateful for your trust,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut to the majority who voted for change, I concede defeat because it is only right to respect your will.\u201d<\/p>\n

The outgoing president pledged his full commitment to a peaceful transfer of power, revealing that he had already instructed his staff to facilitate a seamless handover.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have directed my team to leave all State Residences in good order for the President-elect to move in upon taking his oath of office,\u201d he affirmed.<\/p>\n

\u2018Meticulous handling of polls\u2019<\/h2>\n

Chakwera praised the MEC for its \u201cmeticulous and outstanding\u201d handling of the polls, singling out its chairperson, Justice Annabel Mtalimanja, for steering the process with \u201ca cool head and steady hands.\u201d<\/p>\n

He nonetheless urged the Commission to follow through on addressing reported irregularities and to hold accountable those who broke electoral laws.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe anomalies identified do not necessarily mean that the outcome projecting Professor Mutharika as the winner is not credible,\u201d Chakwera noted.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut MEC must still provide a full and transparent account of those irregularities to strengthen our democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Looking ahead, Chakwera called on Malawians to rally behind Mutharika\u2019s leadership regardless of political affiliation.<\/p>\n

\u201cProfessor Mutharika\u2019s success in leading our nation towards prosperity will depend on all of us standing as one people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He assured his party that he would soon guide its leadership transition but stressed that national unity and development must come first.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat matters now is for all of us as Malawians to work together as one nation to make Malawi better,\u201d he concluded. <\/p>\n

\u201cBecause that\u2019s how we will all be winners in the end.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 24 \u2013 Malawi\u2019s President Lazarus Chakwera has formally conceded defeat in the presidential election, paving the way for his rival, Professor Peter Mutharika of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), to become the nation\u2019s seventh president. Speaking at Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe on Wednesday, Chakwera, 70, said the results announced so far by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-121985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121985","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121985"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121985\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121985"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121985"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121985"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}