Liberians on Tuesday (14/11) voted in the runoff election between President George Weah and former Vice President Joseph Boakai, in what is expected to be a fierce battle of votes between the two old rivals.
Former footballer Weah, who took office in 2018, won by just 7,000 votes against career politician Boakai in elections last October. Weah failed to gain 50 percent of the vote to secure outright victory.
People line up to vote in the second round of the presidential election between Liberian President George Weah and former Vice President Joseph Boakai in Monrovia, Liberia November 14, 2023. (REUTERS/Carielle Doe)
Weah has asked voters to give him a chance to fulfill his first-term promises to root out corruption and improve people’s lives. This West African country is still feeling the impact of two civil wars between 1989 and 2003, and the Ebola epidemic in 2013-2016 which killed thousands of people.
Meanwhile, Boakai, who lost to Weah in the 2017 election, has campaigned on the need to save the country from what he calls mismanagement by Weah’s government.
Former vice president of Zambia and head of the election monitoring mission, Nevers Mumba, said he was impressed with the Liberian people who showed resilience to express their democratic will.
“We were very impressed, so we think that other countries in the region can learn from what Liberia is trying to do. It is for this reason that we ask Liberia not to step back in this election. In the same way, as they did on October 10, let’s see the Liberian people do the same, after this second round.” (ns/em)