Observers hail peaceful election

by NATION  REPORTER
(5/21/2009)

As
Malawians turned up in large numbers to vote in presidential and
parliamentary elections yesterday, leader of the Commonwealth observer
mission and the EU chief observer applauded the country’s citizens for
a peaceful election.
Leader of the Commonwealth observer team John
Kufuor, who is also former Ghanaian president, said in an interview
voting went well in most centres he visited.
“The voting stations I visited were calm. People were voting in a peaceful manner...,” he said.
Kufuor
led a team of African Union mediators to Malawi three months ago to
ease the political tension between former president Bakili Muluzi, the
incumbent president Bingu wa Mutharika and MCP president John Tembo.
Vice-President
of the European Parliament and the EU chief observer Luisa Morgantini
said Malawians should be proud of themselves for the peaceful elections
and an impressive turn out.
“I am getting reports from across the country from EU observers that the situation is the same,” she said.
Mutharika,
standing for a second term, battled it out with six other candidates in
an election described as DPP’s first litmus test.
“I voted because I
wanted Bingu to have the mandate he badly needed to govern the
country,” said an excited voter—Loveness Austin in Lilongwe.
“I voted for someone who will make sure that food is always on the table for my family,” said another voter Martin Msonda.
In
most polling centres in Lilongwe, it was evident the race was between
Mutharika and Tembo, who is backed by Muluzi whose attempt to run was
blocked by the courts over the weekend.
The Electoral Commission closed the polling centres across the country shortly after 6pm.
In
a statement released after polling stopped, the commission’s
chairperson Anastasia Msosa said they had no reported incidence of
violence across the country and admitted that in some areas names of
voters missed on the voters roll.