Muluzi who was dealt a big blow prior to the elections as the electoral body rejected his bid to contest saying he had already served two terms, said it was clear through the results that Mutharika had won the elections.

“I say congratulations to Bingu Wa Mutharika for winning the elections. I phoned him wishing him all the best even if the electoral body has not announced the official results. I have even instructed my party to write a statement,” Muluzi told a local radio Zodiak Broadcasting Station (ZBS).

Mutharika’s arch-rival said as one of the people who fought for democracy in the southern African country, he felt it wise to congratulate the president. He said Malawi needed to go on as a nation and he had decided to concede defeat after noticing that Muthalika was the clear winner in the Tuesday polls

Muluzi, however, said he had made the announcement in his personal capacity and his party and not the MCP which he made an alliance with. “These are elections where there have to be a winner and in this case Mutharika has won. I therefore call upon people to support him and avoid violence,” he said.

"I was not the candidate in the electoral alliance and its only honourable Tembo who can accept or deny the election results, my concession is based in how we look at the elections at the UDF," he said.

Peace and calm

He said there was need for political leaders to encourage their supporters to maintain peace and calm that has been there in the whole elections excise. "We need not to instill violence in our supporters as usually when such violent acts erupt it is the ordinary people that suffer while the politicians are safe," he said.

Asked wherever his congratulations to Mutharika meant that they had resolved their past differences, Muluzi said that people should understand that political differences never went to as far as personal level.

"People should understand that our differences in political ideologies do not extend to personal hatred,” he said. Muluzi has since announced that he will attend the presidential inauguration ceremony.

Muluzi said he was ready to attend the inauguration ceremony being the former president once invited.

The former president’s statement comes barely a few days after opposition presidential candidates James Nyondo and Stanley Masauli also conceded defeat and wished Mutharika all the best.

The president has scooped more votes in almost all the districts in the country beating his closest ally John Tembo of Malawi Congress Party (MCP) who formed an alliance with Muluzi’s United Democratic Front (UDF) party