Malawi: 'We see nothing here but poverty'

Voting delays and allegations of ballot rigging are casting a shadow over Malawi's third multiparty elections on Thursday, as President Bakili Muluzi bows out of office after a decade marred by deepening poverty and hunger.

While the governing United Democratic Front seems certain to retain its parliamentary majority, Muluzi's controversial choice of successor has thrown the presidential race wide open.

The poll was postponed by two days after the opposition coalition protested to the High Court that Malawians had not been given an opportunity to verify the voters roll.

The opposition grouping claimed hundreds of thousands of names had been left off the 5,7-million-long list. It also accused Muluzi of using state resources to campaign for the UDF and claimed up to 1,6-million excess ballots would be used to rig the vote -- allegations denied by the ruling party.

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