Liberia: Defeated in the second round of the presidential election, George Weah has admitted his defeat
On Friday, November 17, the National Elections Commission of Liberia released the results of the Presidential election, with 99.58% of the votes counted. Despite the count being at 99.58%, Joseph Boakai maintained his lead over the incumbent President with a margin of 28,434 votes that was impossible to overcome.
«Tonight, the CDC (Congress for Democratic Change) has lost the election, but Liberia has won. It’s time for elegance in victory. The results announced tonight, although not final, indicate that Boakai has a lead that we cannot catch up to. I have spoken to the President-elect Joseph Boakai to congratulate him on his victory» declared George Weah.
In the first round of the election, George Weah had a slight lead over his challenger, with a score of 43.83% for the former and 43.44% for the latter.
This lead was successfully closed by the veteran of Liberian politics in the second round.
He managed to garner support from influential figures such as the former warlord Prince Johnson, who remains popular in the Nimba County.
Prince Johnson is among those disappointed by George Weah’s presidency, whom he had supported in 2017.
There are many disappointed individuals, as the footballer-turned-president failed to alleviate poverty in the country as many of his less privileged compatriots had hoped and expected.
Even in the fight against corruption, George Weah left vulnerabilities that his opponents astutely exploited through effective communication against him.
On Friday night, supporters of Joseph Boakai had already begun celebrating their candidate’s victory.
Let’s hope that Joseph Boakai succeeds where George Weah fell short.
Smith Okafor
