President Lazarus Chakwera has conceded defeat to Peter Mutharika in the just concluded Malawi presidential elections, becoming one of a handful of incumbent presidents to lose a presidential re-election.

Malawi's election sees a tight contest between President Lazarus Chakwera and ex-President Peter Mutharika amid economic hardships. High inflation, food shortages, and voter concerns dominate the scene.

The queue to get fuel rather than the queue to vote is what is on the mind of many Malawians as Tuesday's general election approaches. Prolonged petrol shortages, along with regular power cuts, the rising cost of living, hunger, poverty, inequality and youth unemployment, add to the tangible frustration here.

Peter Mutharika, re-elected president, has pledged to create one million jobs and provide free secondary education. The IPOR survey predicted his victory, and undecided voters helped to widen his margin of support in the final results.

Malawians voted Tuesday in elections overshadowed by soaring prices and crippling fuel shortages, with the economic gloom a challenge to President Lazarus Chakwera's bid for a second term.

Malawi counted votes Wednesday after general elections overshadowed by surging costs and chronic fuel shortages that have hampered the term of outgoing President Lazarus Chakwera.