The Electoral Commission is due to announce official results later on Wednesday. .

Malawi’s President Lazarus Chakwera has conceded defeat in this month’s presidential election, ahead of the Electoral Commission’s announcement of the official results in the he largely poor southern African nation, battered by soaring costs and severe fuel shortages,

“It is only right that I concede defeat out of respect for your will as citizens and out of respect for the constitution,” Chakwera, 70, said in an address.

While the Electoral Commission was due to release the results of the vote at a briefing at 12 GMT on Wednesday , official results released so far show ex-president Peter Mutharika has gained a strong lead over Chakwera.

Last week, citizens took to the polls to vote on the country’s next leader, in a vote that analysts predicted would be one of the most tightly contested votes in the country in recent history between Mutharika and Chakwera, the candidates of the two biggest parties in Malawi’s parliament.

Since Chakwera was elected in 2020, the country has experienced economic stagnation, with inflation levels above 20 per cent for more than three years.