Official counting is underway. With most central region votes counted, it appears MCP’s Chakwera has a 10,000 vote lead. Yet to be officially counted are votes in one Lilongwe center that was voting yesterday, and votes in Peter ‪Mutharika‬’s DPP strongholds Mulanje, Chikwawa, Neno, Mangochi and Blantyre. ‪Joyce Banda‬ and her PP seem to be effectively out of the running, as does UDF’s Atupele Muluzi. Will be an interesting sprint to the finish line.

The subtexts are that Malawians have been largely peaceful and exemplarily enthusiastic in participating in the election. By rejecting the two parties that are arguably most known for the handout mentality, Malawians in towns and villages all over the country have shown that they are too sophisticated to be blinded by campaign-trail handouts.

There were pockets of unrest, but these should not be taken to represent the nature of our people. More on this later.