By Kemo Cham
Liberians are anxiously awaiting announcement of final results from Tuesday’s run-off elections, as incumbent President George Weah trails opposition candidate Joseph Boakai who maintains a slim lead, according to latest available data.
The data released by the National Electoral Commission (NEC) on Thursday shows results from 5,107 out of 5,890 polling places, representing 86.71%, and the Unity Party’s Boakai secured 712,741 votes, representing 50.58 percent, while Congress for Democratic Change’s Weah got 696,520 votes, representing 49.42 percent.
Liberians returned to the poll on Tuesday, November 14, after no candidate met the 50 percent plus one vote threshold in the first round of voting on October 10.
Weah emerged at the top of 20 candidates in the first round, with 43.8% of the vote, ahead of Boakai with 43.4%. Between the two main rivals there was a 7000 votes difference.
Weah, 57, is running for his second and final term of office as per constitutional provisions.
Mr Boakai, on the other hand, is a former Vice President of Liberia. The 78-year old lost to Weah in a run-off in 2017.
Following Thursday’s announcement of the latest results, supporters of the opposition candidate took to the streets across the country jubilating.
But observers say given the tight nature of the race, the remaining results could tip the balance in favour of any of the candidates when the Electoral Commission announced the final results today, as expected.
