Nyondo concedes presidential defeat
National Salvation Front (Nasaf) presidential hopeful James Mbowe Nyondo has conceded defeat in the May 20 presidential race, in which he was contesting with eleven others.
Nyondo has accepted the defeat even before the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) released the official results. He is the first presidential candidate to take the move.
But Nyondo said that he has finally noted that he will not make it because of flaws in his campaign which he says he will improve on in the next elections.
Nyondo said otherwise Malawians love him.
“It is because I came late. People didn’t see my poster,” Nyondo told Nyasa Times in an exclusive interview.
“My posters to sell me out for the presidency were printed out five days before the elections day. It was not the way to go and we will do better next time.”
Nyondo who represented his Nasaf is unlikely going to get even 5 per cent of the vote cast on Tuesday.
An impeccable character, good at articulating complex issues into digestible bits, Nyondo also lost out in a parliamentary race in Chitipa Central Constituency to Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) Clement Fukumele Mukumbwa with a narrow margin.
On Tuesday Nyondo, a US trained lawyer, had called on the nullification of the May 20 polls following the irregularities that had been observed.
Unofficial results show that DPP’s Peter Mutharika is likely to take over the reins of power. He is going to take over Joyce Banda – his archrival – who became Malawi’s leader following the sudden death of Bingu wa Mutharika – Peter elder brother.
