Former soccer star and outgoing Liberian President George Weah admitted defeat in presidential elections on Friday after a close race that was expected to ensure a smooth transfer of power from his rival Joseph Boakai in the western African country where memories of civil wars are still vivid .
Published on: November 18, 2023 – 08:38
3 mins
He was considered the favorite in the run-up to the vote, but ultimately did not receive a new mandate. In Liberia, outgoing President George Weah conceded defeat in the November 14 presidential election to his opponent Joseph Boakai on Friday evening, November 17th. A democratic result that breaks with the coups that have taken place in the region in recent months.
“Tonight the CDC (George Weah’s party) lost the election but Liberia won. It is time for elegance in defeat,” said George Weah, a former football star who was elected in 2017, in a speech on public radio.
“The results announced tonight, while not final, suggest that (Joseph) Boakai has a lead that we cannot catch up with. I spoke to President-elect Joseph Boakai to congratulate him on his victory,” George Weah said.
The results released by the Electoral Commission on Friday after counting votes in more than 99% of offices showed 50.89% for Joseph Boakai (78) and 49.11% for George Weah.
After counting around 1.6 million ballots, Joseph Boakai had a lead of just over 28,000 votes. Around 2.4 million Liberians were called to vote on Tuesday and turnout was over 65%, according to the electoral commission’s website.
Overall, the vote was peaceful
In addition to choosing the person called to lead this country in search of stability after the years of civil war and the Ebola epidemic, one of the questions of the election was the peaceful and orderly conduct of the elections and the acceptance of the results. while democracy is being undermined by a series of coups in West Africa.
The vote came 20 years after the end of Liberia’s civil wars, which claimed more than 250,000 lives between 1989 and 2003 and are still vivid memories in this West African country.
This election was the first to be organized without the presence of the United Nations Mission in Liberia, established in 2003 (and disbanded in 2018) to ensure peace after civil wars.
Several people were killed in clashes during the election campaign. Incidents were reported between the two rounds of voting, raising concerns about the consequences of the election, particularly in the event of a close outcome.
Many foreign and Liberian observers followed the election. The representatives of the European Union and the Economic Community of West African States welcomed the overall peaceful course of the second round.
Joseph Boakai, an old hand
Dozens of Joseph Boakai’s supporters celebrated his victory on Friday by dancing in front of one of his party offices in Monrovia’s Fiama district, an AFP correspondent noted.
The winner, Joseph Boakai, will take charge of this English-speaking country of around five million people, one of the poorest in the world, for six years.
This old hand was vice president from 2006 to 2018 to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the first woman elected head of state in Africa. He has held a variety of positions in the government or private sector.
Despite his age, he won against an opponent 21 years his junior (57 years old), who remained popular with young people but had to defend a criticized record.
Joseph Boakai is taking revenge on the man who defeated him soundly in the second round of 2017 with more than 61% of the vote, but who his critics accuse of failing to keep his promises to fight poverty and corruption.
With AFP
