The historic rerun of Malawi’s presidential election has been won by the opposition, the first time a court-overturned vote in Africa has led to the defeat of an incumbent leader. Lazarus Chakwera’s victory was a result of months of determined street protests and a unanimous constitutional court decision that the May 2019 vote had widespread irregularities and could not stand. Chakwera won with 2.6 million votes out of 4.4 million cast. President Peter Mutharika, who had sought a second five-year term, called this new election flawed but has urged the country to “move on peacefully”. The Malawi Human Right Commission, one of the observers, has said the election was peaceful and transparent. A court overturned the original election last year won by Mutharika, citing widespread irregularities including the use of correction fluid on ballots. It was just the second time in Africa that a court has overturned a presidential election, following a ruling on Kenya’s vote in 2017. Months of sometimes deadly unrest had followed the announcement of Mutharika’s win in the May 2019 election as people in long-peaceful Malawi went into the streets to protest. The constitutional court on 3 February unanimously ordered that the vote be held again, citing “widespread, systematic and grave” evidence of irregularities and vote tampering. Mutharika wanted a second and final five-year term.