MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th June, 2020) Leader of opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) Lazarus Chakwera, who has recently been elected as the country's new president, was sworn in in the parliament in the country's capital city of Lilongwe on Sunday, media reported.
Chakwera won the vote rerun with 2.6 million votes, or 58.57 percent, against 1.7 million votes garnered by incumbent president Peter Mutharika of the Democratic Progressive Party, the Malawi Electoral Commission said on Saturday.
According to the Malawi Nyasa Times newspaper, Chakwera was sworn in by Chief Justice of Malawi Andrew Nyirenda, after Vice President Saulos Chilima took a fresh oath to continue serving in his post for the next five years. Chilima's United Transformation Movement has joined forces with Chakwera's MCP and other parties, forming the Tonse Alliance.
"I, Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera, do solemnly swear that I will well and truly perform, the functions of the high office of president of the Republic of Malawi, and that I will preserve and defend the constitution, and that I will do right to all manner of period without fear or favor, affection or ill will," Chakwera said during the oath, as quoted by the media outlet.
In May, the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal upheld a Constitutional Court verdict that canceled the results of the country's 2019 presidential election, citing a significant number of violations. In the now-canceled election, Mutharika claimed 38 percent of the votes, while Chakwera received 36 percent.
