By John Ikani
Liberia’s President George Weah and opposition candidate Joseph Boakai are locked in a close battle as nearly 75% of the election results have been unveiled.
Liberian citizens exercised their democratic right by casting their ballots to elect the President, members of the House of Representatives, and half of the Senate on the 10th of October.
Mr. Weah currently holds a slim lead, securing 43.8% of the vote compared to Mr. Boakai’s 43.5% according to announcement made by the country’s National Elections Commission on Sunday.
As of Sunday, results from 4,295 out of 5,890 polling places in Liberia have been officially declared.
Meanwhile, the West African regional bloc, Ecowas, issued a warning against jumping the gun with “premature” victory claims.
the bloc urged all parties to maintain peace and cautioned that they would be held responsible for any actions that might incite violence and instability.
President Weah is in the running for a second term in office, while Mr. Boakai, who was the runner-up in the previous elections, once served as deputy to former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
In order to secure the presidency without a runoff election, the winner must obtain a minimum of 50% of the total votes.
