Malawi’s President Lazarus Chakwera has accepted that he lost last week’s election.
He says he has phoned ex-President Peter Mutharika to congratulate him.
In the votes announced so far, Mutharika has got about 66% of the votes compared to Chakwera’s 24%.
The election commission has delayed the announcement of the official result until the evening.
Malawians have been anxiously awaiting the final result as the election was held eight days ago.
The election commission says it has taken its time to ensure the results are accurate.
Chakwera’s party had complained of “serious anomalies” during the counting process.
However, Hundreds of Mutharika’s supporters are celebrating in the streets of the capital, Lilongwe.
Motorists can be heard beeping their horns and playing loud music, while pedestrians dance, sing and chant “adadi”, which means father in the local Chichewa language.
The victory parade is growing as people continue to join them. Some are ripping down Chakwera election posters along the way while others are waving the flag of Mutharika’s party, the DPP.
Chakwera, a former theology lecturer and preacher, had no political experience when he emerged as leader of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) in 2013.
When he ran for president in 2014, he was unsuccessful, but in 2020 he triumphed, beating the incumbent, Mutharika, in an unprecedented re-run.
Chakwera’s time in office has been marred by economic turmoil and allegations of corruption.
The 70-year-old did, however, reintroduce train services in Malawi for the first time in over three decades. He has also overseen major road construction across the country.