22 May 2014 Last updated at 11:36 GMT
Preliminary results will only be announced after 30% of votes have been counted
This was the fifth poll since one-party rule ended in 1994
Counting is being done manually because the electronic system has broken down
In some places, there was no electricity and lamps, causing delays
Malawi poll marred by rigging, says President Joyce Banda
Preliminary results will only be announced after 30% of votes have been counted
Malawi's elections have been marred by "some serious irregularities", including vote-rigging, President Joyce Banda has said.
She called for an immediate manual audit of the results.
Mrs Banda faced a strong challenge in Tuesday's election from three other presidential candidates, including ex-Foreign Minister Peter Mutharika.
Earlier, a minister killed himself at his home in the capital, Lilongwe, police say.
Deputy Local Government Minister Godfrey was found shot dead inside a locked bedroom.
His spokesman denied reports that his suicide was linked to him apparently losing his parliamentary seat.
The BBC's Raphael Tenthani in Blantyre says Mr Kamanya left a note asking Mrs Banda to take care of his daughter and provide for her education.
'Voting buckets'
Mrs Banda said in a statement that irregularities included:
- The arrest of presiding officers who were "caught in the act of rigging"
- Some people voting up to three times
- "Serious anomalies" where some candidates won more votes than the number of registered voters
- Discarded and tampered ballots
- Communication devices of some monitors being blocked.
The Malawi Election Commission (MEC) should address these concerns by doing a manual audit of the entire process, she said.
This was the fifth poll since one-party rule ended in 1994Counting is being done manually because the electronic system has broken downIn some places, there was no electricity and lamps, causing delays
"I appeal to all Malawians to continue with their commitment to peaceful co-existence and to remain calm until the Malawi Electoral Commission determines the outcome of the poll results," the president said.
Eleven candidates ran against Mrs Banda, but her main challenger is seen as Mr Mutharika, the brother of former President Bingu wa Mutharika who died in office in April 2012.
The MEC will announce results when 30% of votes have been counted, its chairman Maxon Mbendera said on Wednesday.
The MEC was "not anywhere in the neighbourhood" of that figure, he added.
Counting was being done manually because the electronic system was "refusing to take the information from the ground where our data clerks are stationed to send the results", chief elections officer Willie Kalonga told the AFP news agency.
Voting spilled into a second day at 13 voting stations, and thousands queued to cast their ballot.
In some places, voting boxes or lids did not arrive so officials used buckets and plastic wrap, correspondents say.
Around 7.5 million people were eligible to vote in the fifth elections since the end of one-party rule 20 years ago.
