Monrovia, Nov. 14, (dpa/GNA) – Liberian voters will choose the West African country’s next president in a run-off election on Tuesday.
Incumbent President George Weah, once a professional footballer, is facing former vice president Joseph Boakai, who served under former president Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf from 2006 to 2018.
Weah very narrowly led Boakai in the first round of voting on October 10, securing a wafer-thin majority of 43.83% ahead of Boakai with 43.44%.
Results from Tuesday’s run-off election are expected to take several days.
Weah, of the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC), and Boakai, of the Unity Party (UP), also faced each other in the 2017 presidential election. At the time, Weah won in a run-off with 61.5% of the vote to Boakai’s 38.5%.
Weah, who is now campaigning for a second term, has been linked to several corruption scandals. However, he was able to win important endorsements following the first round of voting, including from former critic Henry Costa, who organized major anti-government protests in 2020.
During his footballing career, Weah, played for several top European clubs including Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan and Chelsea FC.
Despite its rich natural resources, the coastal country on the Atlantic Ocean is one of the poorest countries in the world.
In addition to economic problems, many Liberians are particularly concerned about corruption and the slow process of coming to terms with atrocities committed during the civil war.
Around 250,000 people were killed between 1989 and 2003, although few people have faced justice over allegations of war crimes.
GNA