Liberia presidential election sets for rerun as no clear winner emerges

President George Weah and his main opponent, Joseph Boakai, will face each other in a run-off election as the two candidates failed to secure majority votes after the October 10 Presidential democratic exercise. The head of the electoral commission, said the run-off will be held on November 14…

A run-off election has been scheduled to be held next month in Liberia after President George Weah and his main rival, Joseph Boakai, could not be separated after the recently concluded presidential election.

The incumbent leader, Mr. Weah, got 43.83% of the vote, while Mr. Boakai, a former vice president of Liberia, received 43.44%.

The October 10 election was the closest presidential race in the history of the West African country after a bloody civil war that ended about two decades ago.

Davidetta Browne, the head of the electoral commission, said the run-off will be held on November 14.

She noted that there was a record turnout of 78.86% of around 2.4 million registered voters.

The second round of votes became needed as neither candidate received more than 50% of the vote in the first round to emerge as the winner.

This is the second time that the presidential election will be going for a rerun in Liberia.

Joseph Boakai, who is the leading opponent, is campaigning on the need to save Liberia from alleged mismanagement by the current administration.

Mr. Boakai’s charges were disputed by president Weah, who stated that he has made tremendous progress, including implementing free tuition for university students.