The final results of Liberia’s first round of presidential elections have been announced by the electoral commission, confirming a close race between George Weah and Joseph Boakai. The two candidates received very close scores, with a difference of around 7,000 votes. Weah received 43.83% of the vote, while Boakai received 43.44%.
These results confirm the trend given by the provisional results which were announced a week ago. Voters in some polling stations had to vote again in Nimba, Sinoe and Montserrado counties, which explains why the final results took so long to be announced.
With these very close scores, neither of the two main candidates managed to obtain the absolute majority necessary to win the election in the first round. This means that a second round will take place on November 14, where the candidates will have to collect the votes of the small eliminated candidates.
George Weah, who is very popular with young people, has however disappointed many of his supporters due to the lack of improvement in the living conditions of the most deprived and the increase in corruption during his mandate. For his part, Joseph Boakai has focused his campaign on improving the lives of the poorest, but he has also forged controversial alliances with local barons, which could work to his disadvantage.
In the first round, almost 114,000 ballots were invalidated, which can be attributed to the complexity of the electoral process. The electoral commission says the process will be simplified for the second round to avoid this type of situation. The participation rate was 58.86%, which means that the candidates will also have to strive to convince voters who did not turn out in the first round.
In conclusion, the second round of the presidential election in Liberia promises to be extremely close, with George Weah and Joseph Boakai who will have to do everything to convince the voters. The race is open and the two candidates will have to put forward their programs and their abilities to improve the situation of the country to hope to win this crucial election.