MALAWI, Blantyre, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Malawians across the country on Tuesday queued up to cast ballots that will determine which party is to rule the country in the next five years.
Malawians are voting to choose a president, lawmakers and local government councilors, with seven presidential candidates, including incumbent Peter Mutharika who is seeking his second and last term.
At Tax Office Polling Station in Blantyre, one of the biggest polling stations in the city, queues formed as early as 05:00 hours as voters turned up early to cast their votes.
"I am happy that I have voted. I came here as early as 04:00 a.m. I have been waiting for this time because voting gives us an opportunity to choose a government of our choice," Nelson Bunyani, a voter at the polling station who was among the early voters told Xinhua.
While he complained that the voting started a bit late, he said everything was so far fine and that there were no major hiccups.
Lumbani Zyambo, another voter who was found at the same polling station said he was happy that he was exercising his right to choose a leader of his choice.
"So far so good, we have no problems here and everything seems to be fine. I am just glad that I have voted. People want change," he said.
Grace Divson, at Blantyre Secondary School Polling Station, said the voting process was fine and that there were no challenges.
At Goliath Polling Station in Thyolo district, 45 kilometers south of Blantyre, people were found in queues voting peacefully.
Alice Simon, one of the voters said the process was so far fine with no major challenges and added that the voting process started on time.
On Monday, the Malawi Electoral Electoral Commission (MEC) assured that it was ready to conduct the polls and that all the logistics were in place.
