Eight orders for alleged electoral fraud -

Malawians voted in the presidential, parliamentarians and local elections on Tuesday

Reuters a woman in a head of head and enveloping yellow patterns puts a vote in an urn. The box is on dusty land in an outdoor vote station - a host of people waiting for voting can be seen in the background. — Malawians voted in the presidential, parliamentarians and local elections on Tuesday

Malawi police arrested eight people for alleged electoral fraud while the country awaits the final results of the general elections on Tuesday.

Inspector General Merlyne Yolamu said the suspects, who worked as data entry clerks, had tried to manipulate the figures.

The 2019 Malawi elections were tainted by the controversy when the highest court canceled the victory of President Peter Mutharika, citing generalized irregularities.

Consequently, the Malawi electoral commission is on high alert for any potential problem. Until now, the official counts suggest that Mutharika leads the race for the presidency with the holder of Lazarus Chakwera in second place.

More results from the 36 Malawi districts should be published on Saturday – a candidate must earn more than 50% of the votes, or a runoff takes place.

Meanwhile, the Chakwera Malawi Congress Party said he had filed a complaint with the electoral commission, claiming to have discovered irregularities in the count.

The officials did not specify what these irregularities were.

The Commission should announce the outcome of the elections that after all the votes were recorded and verified in order to avoid the possibility that the end result is disputed.

According to the law, the electoral commission has until the end of Wednesday to announce the final statements.

In 2019, when Mutharika’s victory was canceled, a court said that there had been generalized falsification, including the use of TIPP-Ex correction fluid on the results sheets.

Lazarus Chakwera (L) and Peter Mutharika (R) are longtime political rivals

AFP via Getty Images An image divided shows Lazarus Chakwera (which wears glasses and a suit) and Peter Mutharika (which wears a colorful and motivated shirt and a cap sporting the name of his group - DPP). — Lazarus Chakwera (L) and Peter Mutharika (R) are longtime political rivals

Chakwera, 70, won the new one with a large margin, propelling him to the presidency.

Mutharika, 85, hopes to resume his functions in what would be a dramatic political return.

The Malawians also voted in the parliamentary and local elections following a campaign dominated by the worsening of the economic crisis which experienced a serious shortage of fuel and foreign currencies.

The official inflation rate is close to 30%, with a frozen chicken in a capital supermarket, Lilongwe, costing about $ 20 (£ 15), in a nation where most people live with $ 2 per day or less.