Malawi's former president Peter Mutharika has taken an early lead in this week's election, according to provisional results. In his face off against incumbent Lazarus Chakwera, Mutharika has roughly 51 percent of votes cast in a quarter of the nation’s councils, compared to 39 percent for Chakwera, Reuters reported on Sunday. Election observers had predicted that the September 16 vote would be a two-horse race between Mutharika and Chakwera, the candidates for Malawi’s two biggest parties. Chakwera came to office pledging to clean up graft, but his handling of cases has been criticised as selective and slow. The constitutional court annulled Mutharika's 2019 election victory because of irregularities including the use of correction fluid on results sheets.