Liberia: Uncertainty Looms Over First-Round Victory

U.S. Department of State / Flickr (Public Domain)
George Weah, Président du Liberia
19 October 2023
The New Dawn (Monrovia)
By Lincoln G. Peters

--As Weah remains in a narrow lead

There is looming uncertainty that any of Liberia's two political archrivals - incumbent President George Manneh Weah and opposition Amb. Joseph Nyumah Boakai would win a first-round victory as they projected.

Both men are sharing close percentages from the total votes counted so far, and a re-run ordered by the National Elections Commission (NEC) this Friday in Nimba County does not show prospects of preventing a run-off.

NEC chairperson Davidetta Brown-Lansanah said Wednesday, 18 October 2023 that President Weah had obtained 803,674 votes or 43.84%, while Mr. Boakai obtained 796,313 votes or 43.44%.

A presidential candidate must obtain 50 percent plus one of the total valid votes to be declared a winner.

Should the NEC declare a run-off, this would be the second time Mr. Weah and his ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) and Amb. Boakai of the former ruling Unity Party (UP) faceoff in the presidential run-off.

Both men battled in a 2017 run-off when Mr. Weah was an opposition. Boakai, whose party's loyalty was divided in factions between him and his former boss, then President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, lost the polls.

20 presidential candidates contested in the October 2023 polls. The National Presidential tally report released Wednesday placed Mr. Weah in a narrow lead with a margin of 7,361 votes.

NEC chairperson Madam Davidetta Brown-Lansanah reported 5,886 polling places out of a total of 5,890 polling places, accounting for 99.93%.

" Now these are the National Presidential Progressive Tally Reports for today. Candidate, Incumbent President George M. Weah, of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) accumulated 803,674 votes, constituting 43.84%," she said.

"...Amb. Joseph Nyumah Boakai of the Opposition Unity Party, 796,313 votes, constituting 43.44%," she continued.

She also reported that Mr. Edward W. Appleton Jr., obtained 40,255 votes, constituting 2.20%.

The National Elections Commission chairperson put the total valid votes at 1,833,189, while the total invalid votes is at 114,597. She added that the total vote was 1,947,786.

Read the original article on New Dawn.

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