On Wednesday, the National Election Commission (NEC) of Liberia commenced the announcement of the results of the presidential election held on Tuesday.
Former Vice President of Liberia and candidate of the Unity Party, Joseph Boakai, took an early lead in the first set of official results announced by NEC chairperson Davidetta Lansanah.
According to results from some districts in two counties, Bomi and Monsterrado, announced by Ms. Lansanah, Mr. Boakai has so far polled 3,119 votes, while incumbent President George Weah polled 1,681 votes.
Counting is still going on at different collation centers in the country, from where it will be sent to the NEC headquarters.
Liberia on Tuesday held its fourth consecutive election since its civil war where citizens voted to elect a new president and half of the Senate and House of Representatives.
A total of 20 people were on the ballot as presidential candidates, including President Weah and former Vice President Boakai.
Elections are still ongoing in some parts of the southeastern part of the country due to flooding that caused a delay in conveying electoral materials on Tuesday.
The final results of the election are not expected until about a fortnight.
More than 2.4 million people were registered to vote in the West African nation, choosing their 73 representatives and 15 senators in addition to the president.
The elections are seeing President George Weah vie for a second term in the polls, which will once again test his popularity after a campaign dominated by an economic crisis and corruption allegations. Former vice president Joseph Boakai, 78, who lost to Weah in 2017, is seen as the main opposition.
Boakai has campaigned on promises to rescue Liberia from what he described as Weah’s failed leadership.
The country is still struggling to emerge from two civil wars that killed over 250,000 people between 1989 and 2003.
The election was the first to be held since the United Nations ended its peacekeeping mission in Liberia in 2018.
Despite some clashes ahead of the vote, both local and regional election observers say polling was peaceful and voter turnout was high.
Photo: BBC
