As Malawi's President Bingu wa Mutharika stretched ahead in the count of votes from Tuesday's national elections, one opposition leader, the president's arch-rival Bakili Muluzi, conceded defeat, according to dpa. With votes from over a third of all 3,897 polling stations counted, Mutharika, the president since 2004, had 1,280,157 votes, against 484,762 for main opposition leader John Tembo. The incumbent's strong lead prompted some of his rivals to already declare Mutharika and his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) victorious, before the final results were announced. Two-term former president Muluzi did not run for president. He was barred from seeking a third term. But his United Democratic Front formed a coalition with Tembo's Malawi Congress Party to oppose Mutharika's ruling Democratic Progressive Party in the general election. In that vote, the president's party was also well ahead. In a radio address to the nation, Muluzi said he had phoned Mutharika to congratulate him. "As a former president of this country I have a duty to be exemplary. For the sake of peace we have to forget the past and move forward," he said. Two of the seven presidential candidates have already conceded defeat. The state broadcaster reported earlier that, with results from 153 constituencies counted, the DPP had won 75 seats out of the 193 up for grabs. Muluzi's concession of defeat contrasted with Tembo's reaction to Mutharika's performance. On Wednesday, Tembo cried foul and threatened not to recognize the outcome if Mutharika won. He alleged his party agents were barred from watching the count in some party strongholds that were subsequently won by the DPP and that ballot boxes in some places were not sealed. The electoral commission said it was investigating the complaints.
