Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika took a strong lead on Wednesday in an election seen as a test of political stability in one of the world's fastest growing economies, Reuters reported. He based his campaign for a second term on his record of turning Malawi into a net food exporter and delivering three years of growth above 7 percent in the country of 13 million where annual gross domestic product is only $313 per capita. But he faced an opposition challenge united behind long-time opposition leader John Tembo, who had the support of former President Bakili Muluzi, himself excluded from the contest. Malawi has the world's second-fastest growing economy, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit. The first results of Tuesday's presidential election from the central region, traditionally an opposition stronghold, showed wa Mutharika, who is seeking his first parliamentary majority, had 845,000 votes with 254,000 for Tembo.
