Malawi has deployed the army to contain violence that saw polling stations burnt and has marred an election seen as the first true test of President Joyce Banda's scandal-tainted rule.
Polling stations had opened as much as 10 hours late, sparking anger and speculation about the fairness of the vote, which spilled over into violence - mirroring the southern African country's volatile politics.
On the outskirts of the commercial capital Blantyre, an AFP reporter saw the smouldering remains of a polling station that had been torched by voters protesting late delivery of ballot material.
A tent used as a polling station was burnt in another Blantyre township, according to electoral commission chief Maxon Mbendera.
In the city centre angry youths staged an impromptu mini-protest chanting anti-government slogans.
In some cases, ballot papers were snatched, the election chief said.
"Maybe they are trying to rig the election," said 38-year-old voter Paul Wind.
"If they think they will frustrate us from voting, they are wrong."
Another voter Fanuel Kapenga said that "this causes doubt, especially if the ruling party wins".
The stakes are high in this first election since hard-line president Bingu wa Mutharika died in office two years ago, with his rival heirs reprising their battle for power.
In the days after his death, Mutharika's body was secretly flown around Africa as his brother Peter allegedly tried to prevent Joyce Banda - then vice-president - from being sworn in.
Banda, 64, began her term as a darling of the West, feted as one of Africa's rare women leaders, but her government has since been ensnared in a $US30 million ($A32 million) corruption scandal that has seen foreign donors freeze vital aid.
