BLANTYRE, Malawi, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Malawi's main opposition leader has taken an early lead after elections held on May 21, the country's electoral body said on Wednesday.
Lazarus Chakwera, leader of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP), has got 533,217 or 37.65 percent of the votes counted so far from 1,784 of the 5,002 polling centers, according to Malawi Electoral Commission chairperson Justice Jane Ansah.
He is narrowly followed by incumbent President Peter Mutharika with 524,247 votes or 37.01 percent, while Vice President Saulos Chilima of the United Transformation Movement is at the third position with 293,978 votes or 20.76 percent.
The electoral chief urged political leaders to refrain from making wild statements on election results as it is the electoral body that is mandated to release results.
According to her, peace during the voting should be allowed to continue until the whole process is completed.
The final results are supposed to be announced within eight days after voting, according to Malawi's law.
