Thousands of Malawians turned out to vote in general elections Tuesday with the incumbent president and his predecessor vying for a second chance to govern the southern African nation battered by soaring costs and fuel shortages.

Long queues formed at outdoor polling stations across the mostly rural nation for a vote focused on the faltering economy in one of the poorest countries in the world.

Seventeen candidates are running for president but observers say the race is between outgoing Lazarus Chakwera and Peter Mutharika, who also duelled in the 2019 vote that was nullified over tampering and followed by a rerun in 2020.

Chakwera, a 70-year-old pastor, and law professor Mutharika, 85, have campaigned on improving the agriculture-dependent economy that has been hit by drought and cyclo

See Full Page