Liberia's Weah, Boakai Heading for Presidential Runoff Vote
Liberia's Weah, Boakai Heading for Presidential Runoff Vote
(Bloomberg) -- Former A.C. Milan soccer starter George Weah and Vice President Joseph Boakai are heading for a second-round runoff vote in Liberia’s presidential election as they have the most votes with 96 percent of polling stations tallied.
Weah had 39 percent of the vote and Boakai got 29.1 percent, with about 1.5 million ballots counted, Jerome Korkoya, chairman of the National Elections Commission, told reporters on Sunday in the capital, Monrovia. The turnout was close to 75 percent.
The run-off vote will be scheduled in November as none of the 20 candidates will garner a 50 percent majority.
Liberians are choosing a leader to replace President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who steps down after 12 years in office. The election could see Liberia transfer power from one elected leader to another for the first time in more than half a century.
“The next time you hear from us tomorrow, we may announce results from all polling stations,” Korkoya said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Festus Poquie in Johannesburg at fpoqie@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Antony Sguazzin at asguazzin@bloomberg.net, Andre Janse van Vuuren