Africa's second female president Joyce Banda is facing stiff challenges from a field of 12 candidates in Malawi's elections Tuesday, according to AP. Malawi's fifth elections since the introduction of multiparty democracy in 1994 started at 6 a.m. local time at most polling centers, but some delayed opening by as much as three hours because of rain and late deliveries of polling materials. Banda, 64, was vice president and came to power in 2013 following the sudden death of President Bingu wa Mutharika. Malawi has 7.4 million registered voters in a population of 16 million. Polling is scheduled to close at 6 p.m. local time (1600GMT) and counting is expected to commence immediately. Results are expected to start trickling in on Wednesday.
