President Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera has conceded defeat in Malawi’s 2025 presidential election, congratulating Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) for his “historic victory” and pledging a peaceful transfer of power.
In his final address delivered at Kamuzu Palace on Wednesday, Chakwera acknowledged that results already validated by the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) gave Mutharika an “insurmountable lead.”
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He said his decision was guided by respect for the will of Malawians and the Constitution.
“I have called Professor Mutharika directly to congratulate him on his historic victory and to wish him well in his upcoming tenure as the seventh President of the Republic of Malawi,” Chakwera said.
He further assured the nation that preparations were underway to ensure a seamless handover, describing the process as critical to safeguarding peace, order, and democratic institutions.
The outgoing president also confirmed that he would attend Mutharika’s swearing-in ceremony, stressing that his presence would be a symbolic gesture of unity.
“I will be there to witness this important moment in our democracy, because the will of Malawians must always be honoured above personal ambition,” he said.
In his address, Chakwera also commended the MEC, particularly Chairperson Justice Annabel Mtalimanja, for presiding over what he described as a transparent and orderly electoral process. However, he called on the Commission to follow through on addressing reported irregularities to strengthen trust in Malawi’s democracy.
Reacting to the development, political commentators have hailed Chakwera’s gesture as a milestone for Malawi’s democracy.
Analyst Chimwemwe Tsitsi said the concession was “commendable,” noting that in many countries’ incumbents resist leaving office, sometimes sparking unrest.
“It is quite commendable for the president to take this path, much as he has some grievances, and his political party, the Malawi Congress Party, has not been a complaint with the courts concerning some discrepancies in the election. But conceding defeat and congratulating the incumbent president is quite commendable, and he has shown that he is a statesman who puts the interests of the Malawi nation far and over and above everything else,” Tsitsi said.
He added that Malawi has avoided the violent scenes witnessed in other nations, pointing to the 2021 Capitol Hill riots in the United States as a reminder of what can happen when leaders refuse to concede.
“It is a sign that our democracy is indeed mature, because in other countries, it is hard for you to see the incumbent just easily accepting defeat where he or she was seeking re-election. We’ve seen cases of violence in the aftermath of an election in a number of countries,” he added.
Similarly, political commentator Vincent Matiya Chirwa underscored the importance of concession in fostering peace.
He has warned that Malawi’s fragile calm could be disrupted unless president-elect Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika urges his team and supporters to celebrate peacefully.
“We don’t want chaos in Malawi. We only have one Malawi. And this can only happen if the president-elect, Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika, informs his own team to actually promote peace at this point in time when tempers are high, when people have had different expectations, and when people will be reacting,” he said.
Chirwa has appealed for restraint, saying Malawi’s democracy will only thrive if victors celebrate peacefully and losers concede with dignity.
“Those who have won should celebrate peacefully, and those who have lost should concede peacefully. That is the genesis of peace,” he added.
MEC is expected to announce the final results of the September 16 polls on Wednesday evening. With 24 councils out of 36 tallied, Mutharika leads with 2,022,879 votes representing a 65.62%, while Chakwera trails second with 732,575 votes representing 23.76%
