chairperson

A couple of hours before the polls closed, Malawi Electoral Commission chairperson Annabel Mtalimanja said 3.7 million people - just half of those who had registered to vote - had cast their ballot.

But two members have since stepped down, and there has been no permanent chairperson for more than a year.

“It’s a really hard adjustment,” said Golden, chairperson of the Senate’s Natural Resources and Wildfire Committee.

“I thought people were going to die that day,” said Tala Ali, a chairperson of the Clifton Mosque in Cincinnati and a trained protest marshal.

With the vice president's seat now vacant, his responsibilities are likely to be handled by the deputy chairperson of the Rajya Sabha or another member designated by the president.