Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera has officially conceded defeat to Peter Mutharika in the country’s presidential election.

In a national broadcast on Wednesday, Chakwera announced his decision and personally called Mutharika to congratulate him.

“It is only right that I concede defeat out of respect for your will as citizens and out of respect for the constitution,” he said.

Partial results from 24 of the 36 districts show Chakwera with over 700,000 votes, while Mutharika leads with 2,000,000. The election commission is yet to release results from the remaining 12 districts.

Mutharika, 85, previously served as Malawi’s president between May 2014 and June 2020.

Chakwera’s concession has been likened to former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan’s historic 2015 call to Muhammadu Buhari, a move credited with easing political tension at the time.