Malawi's Constitutional Court on Monday annulled the May 2019 presidential vote that declared Peter Mutharika a winner and ordered a re-run after an application from opposition parties citing irregularities.

Mutharika, Malawi president since 2014, won the election with 38.57 percent votes, with opposition party leader Lazarus Chakwera getting 35.41 percent and Deputy President Saulos Chilima, who formed his own party, getting 20.24 percent of votes in the final tally.

The electoral commission declared Mutharika the winner despite complaints of irregularities, including results sheets with sections blotted out or altered with correction fluid.

Mutharika had pledged to crack down on corruption and revive the economy in his second five-year term.

But Chakwera, the president's main rival, and Chilima rejected the results and filed a petition in the high court, asking it to nullify the results.

In a unanimous decision, a panel of five judges ordered that a new presidential vote be held within 150 days.

"It is almost impossible to have an election free of irregularities," said Justice Healey Potani, who headed the panel. "However, in the present matter, our finding is that the anomalies and irregularities have been so widespread, systematic and grave that the integrity of the result was seriously compromised, and can't be trusted as the will of voters of the May 21, 2019 election."

In a landmark ruling for the country, the court described the conduct of the electoral commission as "very lacking and demonstrated incompetence."

The court also directed the parliament to consider recalling the current electoral body, which is headed by Supreme Court of Appeal Judge Jane Ansah, to "ensure smooth conduct of fresh elections."

(With input from Reuters)