-Huge celebrations on the streets
By Frank Sainworla, Jr. fsainworla@yahoo.com
With nearly all of the votes tallied, the National Elections Commission (NEC) on Thursday released 98.1% of the results in Tuesday’s Liberian presidential runoff elections, with George Weah getting the lion’s share of the votes.
Flanked by his six other Commissioners and the head of the ECOWAS election observation mission, Ghana’s former President John D. Mahama, NEC Chairman Jerome Korkoya, said Weah won 61.% of the votes tallied, while incumbent Vice President Joseph Boakai of the ruling Unity Party (UP) is trailing with 38.5%.
Eleven of Liberia’s 15 counties have reported 100 percent of their results so far, according to the NEC.
Nearly 1.2 million of the 2.2 million voters cast their ballots, with a turnout of 56%.
Except for Boakai’s home county of Lofa where he won 84.1%, the football icon-turned politician won in the rest of the counties, including the capital, Monrovia with high margins.
In Weah’s home town, Grand Kru County, the CDC leader for over twelve 12 years won massively with 90% of the votes.
Another county the former World and European best footballer of the year won with huge votes is the southeastern Grand Gedeh County–home of the slain Liberian President Samuel Kanyon Doe–where Weah won 88.5% of the total votes cast in that area.
The national electoral body says it will announce the final results on Friday, when the last batch of results (less than 2%) are in.
Formal declaration of the winner of the December 26 runoff election is expected to be made at that time by NEC.
Immediately after the announcement of the results, thousands of supporters of Weah’s CDC Thursday evening took to the streets of Monrovia and other parts of the country in jubilation and chanting, “George Weah oh..it’s Weah we want.”
During the election campaign, Weah focused on government taking responsibility for the fees for 12 graders in the West African Examination, an inclusive administration and improvement in the country’s health care delivery service.
Vice President Boakai campaigned on the platform promising infrastructural development especially roads, education and farming, promising to serve only one term.
Supporters of both parties ended their respective political rallies last weekend with parties at homes and various entertainment centers across the country.
As the run-of election day approached, some supporters of the ruling Unity Party and the All Liberian Party of businessman Benoni Urey demonstrated, demanding the resignation of NEC’s Chairman, Cllr. Jerome Korkoya.