Monrovia — There was no rush to the polls or long lines at most polling stations, when Liberians cast ballots in the country's first presidential run-off election on Tuesday. But reports from various parts of the country said the turnout increased as the day went on, although participation appeared considerably below the 75 percent of the first round on October 11.
While the first round was won by the 39-year old international soccer star George Weah, early reports Tuesday night gave the lead in this round to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a former finance minister and banker who also worked for the World Bank and headed the Africa department at the United National Development Programme.
The balloting followed two weeks of fierce campaigning, negotiating and alliance making. Both candidates tried to cover as much of the country as possible, but in the end, the helicopter chartered by Sirleaf may have trumped the Hummer favored by Weah and helped her to overcome the lead Weah had in places such Grand Bassa County last time.
General Abubakar Abdulsalami, a former Nigerian head of state who is the mediator from the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), met with both candidates on Monday afternoon - together first and then separately. International observers from the National Democratic Institute and the International Republican Institute also met with Sirleaf and Weah and received assurances from each of a readiness to accept the results of a free and fair electoral process. The candidates also expressed the hope that problems which arose on October 11, including difficulties with ballots and questions about the count in several precincts, not be repeated this time around.
Election Day was declared a holiday by the National Transitional Government of Liberia. Sirleaf, escorted by soldiers from the United National Mission in Liberia, made the 45-mile journey to Tubmanburg, the provisional capital of her native Bomi County. Weah went to the village of Kendeja to vote. At 6:00 p.m., the polls officially closed.
When initial results were released and read on radio from different polling centers around the country, they suggested that Sirleaf could emerge victorious, thus becoming Africa's first elected female head of state. Sirleaf was leading in four large counties - Nimba, Bongo, Grand Bassa and Margibi, but many ballots remain to be counted. Final results could be announced by the end of the week, if the tallying continues at the pace it began Tuesday night,
The run-off electioneering campaign has not been without tense moments. The two sides exchanged heated words, and Sirleaf's challenge to Weah to a debate was rebuffed. At one point, the Weah campaign issued a claim that their candidate had actually won the first round with 62 percent of the vote. However, they weren't able to produce the proof to support the assertion or make their numbers add up.
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In an interview Tuesday night with three news organizations, Sirleaf said she was cautiously optimistic. She expressed full confidence in the work of the National Election Commission and said she would accept the outcome, whichever way it went. She also said she would stay in Liberia even if defeated and work with Weah to create a better future for the country. "He has a great following amongst youth, and they are a priority in our programs," she said. At Weah's campaign headquarters, there was little activity for the first time in many weeks, and the Sports Utility Vehicles that usually crowded the yard had disappeared. Francis Nyemah, a youth leader who was sitting on the brick wall, said that the party "had been let down by the youth." They were expected to come out and vote in mass as they did in October, he said, but this time they may have decided to stay away.
