- Title: Malawi's Chakwera pledges graft clampdown in subdued inauguration amid virus
- Date: 6th July 2020
- Summary: SUPPORTERS OF CHAKWERA SINGING AND DANCING WHILE WAVING MALAWI FLAGS
- Embargoed: 20th July 2020 19:17
- Keywords: Lilongwe Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera celebrations inauguration
- Location: LILONGWE, MALAWI
- City: LILONGWE, MALAWI
- Country: Malawi
- Topics: Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
- Reuters ID: LVA003CLOAIIV
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Supporters of Malawi's new president, Lazarus Chakwera, celebrated on Monday (July 6) as he held his inauguration.
Chakwera pledged to clamp down on corruption as he delivered his inauguration speech in a scaled-down ceremony dampened by a surge in COVID-19 cases.
Chakwera unseated former leader Peter Mutharika in a June 23 re-run election after the 2019 polls were overturned by a court, citing irregularities.
The ruling echoed one by a Kenyan court in 2017, which cancelled President Uhuru Kenyatta's election win. Both were surprising on a continent in which courts rarely flex their muscles against powerful presidents.
The repeat vote was regarded as a test of the ability of African courts to tackle ballot fraud and restrain presidential authority, and the power transition was cheered by pro-democracy activists and many of Malawi's 18 million citizens.
(Production: Siyabonga Sishi, Helena Williams) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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