Weah, 19 others await results in Liberia’s poll
Liberia went to the polls for the presidential and parliamentary elections yesterday in which 20 presidential candidates, including incumbent George Weah, were hopeful to lead the country of five million.
Hundreds of people had gathered at polling stations in the capital, Monrovia, early yesterday morning ahead of the start of voting at 08:00 GMT.
Weah, a former international football star, rode to victory on a wave of optimism in 2017, bringing hope to a country that had been devastated by two back-to-back civil wars between 1989 and 2003, and the Ebola epidemic of 2014-2016.
His election was an historic event, marking the country’s first democratic transfer to power since 1944. He promised to tackle poverty, create jobs, build roads and end corruption.
Nearly five years after he took office in 2018, the former Ballon d’Or winner remains popular in some parts of the country, but anger is growing over persistently high levels of corruption and the cost of living.
The main political parties have pledged that the presidential and legislative elections in the West African country would pass off peacefully.
However, the death of three people last month during clashes between rival party supporters has raised concerns about a return to bloodshed.
Scuffles also broke out on Sunday as Weah, who is seeking a second six-year term as president, held his final campaign rally, leaving several injured.
The election was the first to be held since the United Nations ended its peacekeeping mission in Liberia in 2018.
UN peacekeepers were deployed to the country after more than 250,000 people died in two civil wars between 1989 and 2003.
Weah has argued that he needs more time to fix the nation’s decrepit economy and infrastructure.
The former athlete is the favourite among 20 candidates but could face a second-round run-off if he does not secure an absolute majority in the first round of voting.
The European Union, the African Union, the West African bloc ECOWAS and the United States have deployed observers to oversee the vote.
Some 2.4 million Liberians were eligible to vote in the elections, with polling stations closing at 18:00 GMT.
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