President Bingu wa Mutharika of Malawi was sworn in to a second five-year term today after a landslide election victory, and he immediately reached out to his vanquished opponents, according to AP. With most of the votes counted, Mutharika won 66 percent of the vote. He vowed to continue with the reform policies that have overhauled the economy and helped the nation of peasant farmers become self-sufficient in food. He also said he would continue the battle against corruption that has endeared him to Western donors. The anti-graft drive contributed to his bitter fallout with his mentor-turned-nemesis, former President Bakili Muluzi, who hand-picked Mutharika as his successor in 2004. But Mutharika dumped the party nine months into office, accusing it of blocking the anti-corruption campaign. Muluzi and several former ruling party leaders are currently answering fraud and corruption charges involving millions of dollars. Muluzi was barred by the constitution from running for office, and instead backed veteran opposition leader John Tembo, who was close to Malawi's late dictator Hastings Banda. Muluzi attended the inauguration ceremony, but Tembo boycotted it and said the elections were rigged. Foreign observers said Tuesday's poll was generally well run. Mutharika, a 75-year-old former World Bank economist, appealed to his rivals to work with him. The feuding has frequently paralyzed government business and led to allegations of coups and assassination plots. «I appeal to you to let us leave our differences behind and open a new chapter for dialogue and reconciliation. Let us work together with a common sense of purpose for the good of our nation,» he said.
