Editor’s Note: Every Friday, Andrew Green curates the top news and analysis from and about the African continent.
Incumbent President Peter Mutharika squeaked out a victory in Malawi’s presidential election last week, taking 38.5 percent of the vote in a seven-way race. With about 35.4 percent, opposition leader Lazarus Chakwera fell just short in an election that required only a simple plurality to win.
In his acceptance speech Tuesday, Mutharika declared, “It is time to move on and develop the country,” according to The Associated Press. Easier said than done. Chakwera followed Mutharika’s speech by vowing to challenge the results over allegations of ballot tampering. International observers have also flagged the “abuse of state resources and also bias by state media” in the run-up to the election.