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President Peter Mutharika was elected for a second term with 38.5% of the vote.
The 78-year-old outgoing president faced stiff competition in the May 21 elections, particularly from his deputy.
The result was announced Monday after the lifting of an injunction ordered by the country's High Court.
The Challenger Lazarus Chakwera, who finished second, had sought to delay the results because of concerns about voting irregularities.
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Malawi Electoral Commission (ECM) President Jane Ansah called for calm before the announcement.
According to the MEC, President Mutharika, who heads the Progressive Democratic Party (DPP), won a close victory of about 159,000 votes.
Mr. Chakwera, of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP), lagged behind with about 35.4 percent of the vote. He was also ranked second five years ago.
Saulos Chilima, MP for President Mutharika, took third place, winning just over 20% of the vote. Previously, he stated that his name was not on the voters list when he went to vote.
With high levels of national poverty, the economy and corruption were key electoral issues.
The vote was considered one of the most unpredictable that the country has known.
The participation rate was 74% among the 6.8 million registered residents.
Malawi has been independent since 1964. This is the sixth presidential election since the end of the single party regime in 1994.
The Malawi Congress Party (MCP) called for a postponement of the results on allegations of vote rigging.
They wanted recounts in at least 10 of the country's 28 ridings.
In some cases, charges have been brought against physically amended ballots with correction fluid.
The injunction was originally granted on Saturday after the CEM had received 147 reports of irregularities.
Falsification reports provoked protests in opposition strongholds, reports Reuters.
Vice President Chilima also said that there were "serious anomalies" in the vote.
Despite concerns, the Malawi High Court lifted the injunction on Monday and allowed the release of the results, confirming the president's meager victory.
President Mutharika, lawyer and professor, has been the country's leader since 2014.
He was educated in the United Kingdom and the United States and has been involved in Malawian politics since 2008, when his brother, then president, appointed him chief legal counsel.
He was arrested in 2013 alongside other cabinet ministers accused of plotting to overthrow his brother's successor.
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