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Malawi poll results spark riots
BY: Chris Khisa/BBC
DATE: Monday, May 24, 2004
Hundreds of protesters have taken to the streets in Malawi after the governing party's Bingu wa Mutharika was declared the new president.
Angry opposition supporters set fire to a party office in a suburb of the capital, Blantyre, in response to the outcome of Thursday's election.
Another candidate, Gwanda Chakuamba, insisted he had won and told the BBC he refused to accept the result.
International observers say there were serious shortcomings in the elections.
These included problems with the voters' roll and media bias, they said.
Mr Mutharika, a former World Bank economist and planning minister, was the candidate of the governing United Democratic Front (UDF).
He was hand-picked by outgoing President Bakili Muluzi, who is bowing out after two terms as leader of one of the world's poorest nations.
John Tembo of the Malawi Congress Party came second and Mr Chakuamba of the Mgwiriziano coalition third, according to the Malawi electoral commission.
Mr Chakuamba earlier claimed victory after complaining that delays in the count were politically motivated.
In Sunday's unrest, police fired tear gas and warning shots to disperse crowds of youths who had put up makeshift roadblocks on the edge of Blantyre.
Security was high in the city centre and streets were deserted, the Associated Press news agency reported.
Commonwealth and European Union observers had criticised the running of the election, which will also determine the make-up of the new parliament, for "serious inadequacies".
Mr Chakuamba accused the electoral commission of tampering with the results to guarantee the ruling party's victory.
He said that his own monitors and independent observers put him in the lead, Mr Tembo second and Mr Mutharika third.
Even before the results were announced, Mr Chakuamba's supporters staged protests in Blantyre on Saturday to voice their anger at the conduct of the election.
Election officials deny vote-tampering.
Free and fair elections could be key for Malawi's capacity to secure development aid to deal with poverty and Aids, which affects 14% of the population.
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