Muluzi congratulates Malawian president on polls

LILONGWE, Thursday

Former Malawian president now opposition leader Bakili Muluzi has acknowledged President Bingu wa Mutharika had won an election and vowed to support the new government.

Wa Mutharika is leading by a wide margin in vote counting for an election viewed as a test for political stability in the poor but rapidly growing southern African country.

"The United Democratic Front leader Bakili Muluzi has just phoned the incumbent president and congratulated him on winning. He also pledged support for (Bingu) wa Mutharika's government," UDF spokesman Robert Jameson said.

Muluzi was excluded from standing aginst wa Mutharika but threw his weight behind main opposition candidate John Tembo, who was due to address reporters shortly.

Wa Mutharika based his campaign for a second term on his record of turning Malawi into a net food exporter and delivering three years of growth above 7 percent in the country of 13 million where annual gross domestic product is only $313 per capita.

Electoral Commission head Anastasia Msosa said votes had been counted and verified from 153 out of 193 constituencies -- nearly 80 percent. Final results were expected to be announced at about 1500 GMT.

"The counting shows that the incumbent is leading by a wide margin ... but official results should be ready by this afternoon if all goes as planned," Msosa told Reuters.

No level playing field

A Commonwealth election monitoring mission said wa Mutharika enjoyed an unfair advantage in the election, including partisan reporting by state media.

John Kufuor, head of the Commonwealth mission and Ghana's former president, said in an interim report on the election that there was no level playing field for all parties.

"However, the overwhelming impact of the exploitation of the incumbency advantage, especially the unashamed bias of the state TV and radio, created a markedly unlevel playing field, tarnishing the otherwise democratic character of the campaign," he said.

Malawi has the world's second-fastest growing economy, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit. But a repeat of paralysing political upheaval could hurt efforts to attract more foreign investors.

Parliamentary elections were also held on Tuesday.

The opposition on Wednesday rejected results showing the president had a big lead in their Central Province stronghold. The electoral commission said complaints would only be dealt with after all votes had been received.

Wa Mutharika hopes the election will give him a parliamentary majority for the first time, ending a long standoff with the opposition that almost paralysed government. (Reuters)