BLANTYRE, Malawi (AP) — Former Malawi President Peter Mutharika held a strong lead over incumbent Lazarus Chakwera in partial results released Monday in Malawi’s elections.

Mutharika lost the presidency to Chakwera five years ago in an election rerun. Mutharika, 85, of the Democratic Progressive Party won the 2019 election only for a court to cancel the result months later because of irregularities and order a redo.

In this vote, Mutharika received around 68% of votes cast after results from 24 out of 36 councils were declared.

Chakwera, 70, of the Malawi Congress Party, was second with just over 20% of the vote. The current president won the rerun in 2020, but his first term has been characterized by steep rises in the cost of living in a largely rural country with widespread poverty.

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