LILONGWE -- Malawi's former President Peter Mutharika has won the presidential election with 56.8 percent of the vote, securing a decisive lead over incumbent Lazarus Chakwera, the country's electoral commission announced Wednesday.

The president-elect, contesting on the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) ticket, secured nearly 3.04 million votes in the 17-candidate race on Sept 16, while Chakwera of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) garnered around 1.77 million votes, Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) Chairperson Annabel Mtalimanja announced at a press briefing in Lilongwe, the capital.

The 85-year-old Mutharika obtained 56.8 percent of the valid votes cast, surpassing the 50-percent-plus-one threshold required for an outright victory, while Chakwera, 70, trailed with 33 percent of ballots, according to the MEC.

Mutharika, who served as president from 2014 to 2020, will return to office with former MEC Chairperson Jane Ansah as his vice president.

The electoral commission announced the final results just hours after the incumbent, Chakwera, conceded defeat in a televised address.

"It's well clear that my main rival, His Excellency Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika of the Democratic Progressive Party, had already secured an insurmountable lead and is the presumptive winner of the presidential election," said Chakwera.

"For this reason, a moment ago I called Professor Mutharika directly to congratulate him on his historic victory and to wish him well in his upcoming tenure as the seventh President of the Republic of Malawi," he said.

He thanked his supporters and urged all Malawians to support Mutharika's drive for national prosperity.

Some political analysts have described the Sept 16 election as a "protest vote."

"Mostly, the vote that the DPP has gotten is a protest vote: People voted for the DPP because the MCP failed to deliver on its promises," said political analyst Wonderful Mkhuche on a local TV program.

The MEC was expected to release the final result around noon on Wednesday, but delayed the announcement until the evening. A day earlier, Chakwera had sought a court injunction to block the release, but the High Court dismissed the application, clearing the way for the electoral commission to declare the outcome.