Former football star George Weah and
incumbent Vice-President Joseph Boakai
on Saturday edged closer to competing in
a run-off vote for Liberia’s presidency,
with three quarters of polling stations
counted.
Weah now commands 39.2 percent of votes
cast and counted while Boakai has taken
29.6 percent, the chairman of the
National Elections Commission (NEC)
Joseph Korkoya told journalists in
Monrovia.
If no single candidate gains more than 50
percent of the vote, a run-off will be
scheduled in November between the top two
contenders, according to Liberian law.
Whoever wins the vote will take over power
from President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who
has served a maximum two terms and is
stepping down after 12 years.
Although Weah strengthened his lead over
Boakai from partial results released on
Friday, further increasing his vote margin
by more than 10 percentage points would
be a significant challenge.
The NEC said 1,193,331 votes have been
counted so far, with turnout at 74.35
percent, a trend which means that Weah
would need to win a majority in almost all
the remaining districts in a nation of 2.18
million registered voters.
The pair are well clear of the 18 other
candidates, though longtime opposition
leader Charles Brumskine took 9.7 percent
of votes counted and Coca-Cola executive
Alexander Cummings is on 6.9 percent,
meaning the role of their supporters will be
significant if a run-off is called.
Weah is ahead in 12 of Liberia’s 15
counties including Montserrado, its most
populous, while Boakai leads in two
including his home county Lofa.
Boakai said earlier Saturday he was still
confident of winning without the need for
a second round vote.
“I am sure of winning the first round,” he
told journalists. “If there is second round
we will go for it but I am sure of being the
winner at the end of the day,” he added.
NEC chairman Korkoya also said he had
ordered a re-run in the town of Dulay,
where a presiding officer was allegedly
caught stuffing extra ballots by an
observer after polls had closed.
The polling official was now in custody,
Korkoya said, but the total of final results
of the election will not be known until
polling in the area is completed on
Tuesday.
Meanwhile counting in legislative elections
also held last Tuesday is only 30 percent
complete

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/10/liberia-election-weah-boakai-likely-go-run-off/