Weah vs. Boakai in Liberian runoff election
October 19, 2017
Liberia's National Election Commission on Thursday released the final result of the October 10 polls. announcing that former international soccer star George Weah finished first with 38.4 percent of the vote while current Vice President Joseph Boakai came in second with 28.8 percent.
As none of the politicians won more than 50 percent of the vote, which was divided among 20 candidates, the commission said a runoff poll would be held on November 7.
"Officially, the campaign for the November 7 runoff is hereby declared opened and closes on Sunday midnight on November 5, 2017," said Election Commission Chair, Jerome Korkoyah.
But neither Boakai nor Weah, of the Opposition Coalition for Democratic Change party, waited until the official announcement to start lobbying for the support of other major opposition parties.
Smaller parties call for new election
Liberty Party's standard bearer, Charles Brumskine, however, does not seem ready to support either of the two run-off candidates and called for a rerun of the October 10 election. He cried foul and alleged that he had been robbed of votes and said there had been complaints of election irregularities.
"The Liberty Party is a law-abiding party, that's the reason why we will seek redress through the court if our concerns are not addressed," Brumskine said recently at a press conference.
Meanwhile, Alexander Cummings of the Alternative National Congress (ANC), a former Coco Cola executive who was considered the newcomer in Liberian politics, and former Charles Taylor ally, Benoni Urey have in recent days joined Brumskine by issuing election complaints of their own.
Election Commission head Korkoya did not address the parties' complaints when he announced the winners.