The Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) has announced that it will start announcing election results as soon as they start getting them which might be earlier than 9 pm which the commission has put as the closing time for voting in the areas that started voting late.

In an interview aired on Zodiak Broadcasting Station (ZBS), one of the commissioners for the electoral body that has witnessed the worst elections ever marred with many irregularities said that the commission was going to be announcing the results once they were verified by the party representatives that will be present at the national tally center in Blantyre.

Asked if the arrangement would not demoralize or confuse other voters, the commissioner indicated that he never thought that it would be the case as the people were aware of the manifestoes and policies of their leaders and will therefore not be influenced by the results that will be released.

Malawi elections were set to start at 6 a.m across the country but as late as 4 p.m some centers were yet to be operational. The development has cast doubt amongst Malawians if the elections being held are free and fair and if the results will be credible.

The competition in the elections is tight between four candidates namely Joyce Banda of the PP, Peter Mutharika of the DPP, Lazarus Chakwera of the MCP and Atupele Muluzi of the UDF.