Weah Faces Serious Challenge as Liberians Vote in Runoff

Date: 14 November 2023 - 21:55

News ID: ۱۲۱۴۶۶

MONROVIA (AFP) -- Liberians voted on Tuesday to decide whether to hand former football star George Weah a second term as president despite a controversial record, or to elect political veteran Joseph Boakai despite his age.
The runoff is expected to be close between the rivals, who also faced off in 2017 when Weah won in the second round with more than 61 percent.
In the first round of voting on October 10, Weah, 57, and Boakai, 78, came roughly neck and neck on more than 43 percent, with the incumbent taking a 7,126-vote lead.
This year’s election is the first since the United Nations in 2018 ended its peacekeeping mission in Liberia, created after more than 250,000 people died in two civil wars between 1989 and 2003.
More than 2.4 million people are registered to vote. The incumbent is popular among young people but must defend a controversial record in office, while Boakai is an old hand who has held a multitude of positions in the public and private sectors.
The electoral commission has 15 days to publish the results but could do so sooner, one of its officials, Samuel Cole, said.
Since the first-round results, the two political camps have focused on securing the votes of supporters of the 18 candidates who did not make it through.
Edward Appleton, who came third, has backed Boakai, as have two of the other top six candidates.
Weah -- who grew up in the Monrovia slums to become the only African to win football’s most prestigious individual award, the Ballon d’Or -- is widely seen as approachable and peaceful.
He was president when the Covid-19 pandemic hit at a time when Liberia was still recovering economically from back-to-back civil wars and the 2014-2016 Ebola epidemic.
His detractors say he is disconnected from the realities of skyrocketing prices and shortages.
More than a fifth of Liberians live on less than $2.15 a day, according to the World Bank.
Boakai blames Weah for corruption, which is endemic in Liberia and has worsened on the incumbent’s watch, according to Transparency International.
The former vice president has forged alliances with local barons, including former warlord and senator Prince Johnson, who supported Weah six years ago.
Clashes during the campaign left several dead and raised fears of post-election violence.