Justice Nyirenda wrote to the bureau that there had been attempts to bribe the five-judge panel that is hearing the petition.

ACB director Reyneck Matemba confirmed to several newspapers that the complaint came from the chief justice and said that investigations had started.

He told the Daily Times newspaper that the bureau had the names of those involved in the bribery but refused to disclose them.

Mr Matemba said the allegations were being looked into urgently before the determination of the court case.

The petition challenging President Peter Mutharika's win was filed by the candidates who came second and third in the May 2019 election.

President Mutharika was declared the winner with 1,940,709 votes, followed closely by the MCP's Lazarus Chakwera with 1,781,740.

UTM's Saulos Chilima, Mr Mutharika's former vice-president, came third with 1,018,369 votes.