The ceremony which witnessed a reconciliation gesture between former president Dr Bakili Muluzi and incumbent Mutharika attracted scores of many Malawians and was also graced by presidents of some Southern Africa Development Cooperation (SADC) countries.

Dr Mutharika assured Malawians that he will serve all Malawians regardless of their political affiliations. “To accomplish our goals as a nation we need to cultivate a culture of patriotism and move as a nation, let me assure the nation that I will serve the nation as president of all Malawians despite political affiliations, let us forget the wounds that we had in the campaign and move as a nation,” he said.

He said there was need for Malawians to reconcile saying the destiny of the Malawi nation was in the hands of Malawians. The ceremony was attended by neighboring presidents notable among them were Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe, Zambian President Rupiah Banda and Mozambican president Almando Gebuza,

Many Malawians interviewed at the ceremony said the major attribution to Mutharika’s victory was his performance in his first five year term in office. They said his reign saw Malawi’s economy being transformed to the better after it was left in tatters by the previous administration.

“Many Malawians voted in this election because they are impressed with the way the Mutharika administration has transacted government business,” said Bridget Nangwale of Machinjiri in Blantyre. She said Malawians had high expectations from Mutharika and they hoped that his second tenure in office will bring more social economic
development to Malawi.

“We expect that in his second tenure the president will improve the food security, social security mostly on the part of women, improve education standards and the promotion of women participation in decision making as he has already demonstrated by his choice of Joyce Banda as the first lady vice president in Malawi,” she said.

Shadrick Kachala another Blantyre resident who graced the occasion said Mutharika’s victory was a clear demonstration that Malawians have started to understand democratic principals.

“The way Dr Mutharika has won demonstrates that Malawians have started to understand a culture of democracy as in these elections people never voted on regional grounds rather they looked at the candidates’ agenda,” he said.