Liberia’s leader and football icon, George Weah, gracefully accepted his loss to opposition leader Joseph Boakai in a closely contested presidential run-off. Weah emphasized the importance of prioritizing the nation’s welfare over personal ambitions.
The most recent and almost finalized results indicate that Boakai is in the lead with nearly 51 percent of the votes. Liberia, the oldest republic in Africa, was established by liberated American slaves.
“The results announced tonight, though not final, indicate that… Boakai is in a lead that we cannot surpass,” Weah said in a speech on national radio late on Friday.
He said his CDC party “has lost the election but Liberia has won,” adding: “This is the time for graciousness in defeat”.
The 78-year-old Boakai suffered a significant defeat to Weah, 57, in the second-round presidential vote in 2017.
According to the election commission, Boakai had received 50.89 percent of the ballots cast, with more than 99.5 percent of the polling stations reporting vote tallies after Tuesday’s second-round vote.
Base on Friday’s figures, Boakai was leading Weah by 28,000 votes. In the previous month’s first round, the two candidates were closely matched, with Weah holding a narrow national lead of only 7,126 votes.
The election of Weah, the first African footballer to win both FIFA’s World Player of the Year trophy and the Ballon d’Or, raised hopes for change in Liberia.
The country has been struggling with the aftermath of civil wars and the Ebola epidemic from 2014 to 2016. However, critics have accused Weah’s government of corruption and him of failing to fulfill his promise of improving the lives of the poorest.
The United States congratulated president-elect Boakai on his victory and President Weah for accepting the results peacefully.
The US State Department spokesman, Matthew Miller, urged all citizens to follow Weah’s example and accept the results.
Weah said he had spoken to Boakai “to congratulate him on his victory”.
“The Liberian people have spoken, and we have heard their voice. However, the closeness of the results reveals a deep division within our country,” Weah said in his speech.
“Let us heal the divisions caused by the campaign and come together as one nation and one united people.”
The current president, Weah, has promised to keep working for the benefit of the country until the power transition in January.
