Weah and Boakai Move to Run-Off in the LiberiaDecides’23 Election

Almost all results have been announced by the National Election Commission (NEC) and none of the 20 candidates was able to secure more than 50 per cent of votes cast.

Liberian president and candidate of the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) George Weah is set to go into a run-off with his rival and former Vice President, Joseph Boakai of the Unity Party (UP).

Almost all results have been announced by the National Election Commission (NEC), and none of the 20 candidates was able to secure more than 50 per cent of votes cast to be declared winner in the first ballot.

According to the results on the NEC website, 98.4 per cent of the 10 October votes have been announced with Mr Weah thinly leading Mr Boakai with less than one per cent votes.

Messrs Weah and Boakai received 791,661 (43.79 per cent) and 786,205 (43.49 per cent) votes, respectively.

Having secured the highest votes, the duo will head to a run-off in the coming weeks where they will again strive to outrun each other to be elected Liberia’s president.

The development is a repeat of history, with the last presidential election in the West African country held in 2017 ending in a run-off between Messrs Weah and Boakai.

But Mr Weah eventually won the race to emerge president, after polling 61.5 per cent of the votes. Mr Boakai trailed with 38.5 per cent of the votes.

While Mr Weah is seeking a second and final term as president in the 2023 election, Mr Boakai is seeking to achieve his desire to become president after several attempts.