Weah Says Boakai Is An Old Weak Man, While Boakai Says The Runoff Will Remove “Lawlessness, Corruption, Neglect, And Incompetence”
PHOTO: (L-R) CDC George Weah and UP Joseph Boakai–Which one of them will emerge as the winner this Tuesday?
By Frank Sainworla, Jr., fsainworla@yahoo.com
Both political parties in Liberia’s presidential runoff election this Tuesday have been making last ditch attempts to win all the votes they can on November 14, 2023.
According to Liberian elections law, official campaigning ends two days before the day of balloting. And so, the two candidates in the November 14 presidential runoff elections are finalizing their political rallies in the hours leading up midnight on Sunday, November 12.
In the countdown to the end of campaigning, both incumbent President George Weah of the ruling CDC and former Vice President Joseph Boakai of the main opposition UP have been actively campaigning to win over majority of the votes of the nearly 2.4 million eligible voters registered by the National Elections Commission (NEC).
NEC on Tuesday, October 24, 2023 declared that none of the two top presidential candidates was able to get the 50% plus one vote constitutionally required to win the first round of the October 10 election. This is the requirement of Liberia’s 1986 Constitution.
“Article 83 a. Voting for the President, Vice-President, members of the Senate and members of the House of Representatives shall be conducted throughout the Republic on the second Tuesday in October of each election year.
- All elections of public officers shall be determined by an absolute majority of the votes cast. If no candidate obtains an absolute majority in the first ballot, a second ballot shall be conducted on the second Tuesday following. The two candidates who received the greatest numbers of votes on the first ballot shall be designated to participate in the run-off election.
Incumbent President George Weah of the ruling CDC and the main opposition UP candidate, Joseph Boakai, the top two in the race have to face each other in the second round political race.
With 100% of the 5,900 polling places received and tallied, both candidates were neck and neck with 43.83% and 43.44% respectively.
Boakai Says Nov. 14 Runoff Will Remove “Lawlessness, Corruption, Neglect And Incompetence”
The UP candidate Boakai officially closed his campaign on Saturday, November 11 with a tour of Monrovia on a float from the southeastern suburb of Monrovia through central Monrovia via the Japan Freeway and back to the suburb accompanied by the opposition leaders who endorsed his runoff ticket including Lusinee Kamara of ALCOP and Edward Appleton of the Grassroots Development Movement (GDM).
Thousands of UP supporters dressed in their party colours of predominant green filled the streets chanting pre-victory slogans, singing campaign songs amidst the sounds of vuvuzelas.
Finally closing the presidential runoff election campaign in Monrovia over the weekend, the presidential candidate of the main opposition Unity Party (UP), Joseph Boakai has told voters that a defeat of incumbent President George Weah will mean an end to corruption, neglect, indifference and incompetence in Liberia.
In a prepared statement dated today, Sunday, November 12, 2023 accused Weah’s ruling CDC of having a strategy “to engage in fear mongering and in some cases vain attempts to eliminate strong opponents. They want to deter peaceful Liberians from turning out in their mass to vote against the failed CDC government.”
Mr. Boakai continued:
“We are confident that Liberians will turn out again in their mass to demonstrate their love, courage, resilience, and determination to join us in rescuing our country. Our plans to lead this country is afoot and our resolve unmatched. With victory in our reach and Mr. Weah’s fear of the day of reckoning, he has embarked on a reckless misadventure to orchestrate a campaign of fear. He and his co-conspirators have now resorted to the worst acts of cowardice to frighten our people into submission but one man’s desperation for power will not hold our country ransom.”
Weah Throws Jabs At Boakai, Pleads With Citizens For Their Votes
Later on Sunday, thousands of CDC supporters also dressed in their party colour of predominant blue and white and wearing berets poured into the CDC headquarters. As this piece was being written, incumbent President George Weah and his CDC are currently rounding up their campaign at the party’s headquarters in Congo Town. As the Liberian leader entered the CDC headquarters, state Radio ELBC reported that his helicopter was hovering over the vicinity of the facility.
Mr. Weah used his speech to his base to throw jabs at his lone rival, former VP Boakai who he indicated was an old man and weakling. On the platform listening were vocal talk show host and All Liberian Party (ALP) stalwart Henry Costa and his political godfather, Benoni Urey who recently endorsed Weah and his CDC after breaking ranks with Boakai.
In the past few days, the Liberian leader who is making a second-term bid has been frantically campaigning for votes in various communities in and around Monrovia.
In the communities, he pleaded with citizens: “I am here to listen to you and to thank you for voting during the first round of elections on October 10th,”
During the course of the electoral period accused the opposition UP of being the one bent on instilling fear and undermining the country’s peace and stability.
President Weah said Boakai and his UP did nothing to improve infrastructural development in Liberia for the 12 years the party was in power, thus they don”t deserve the votes of the Liberian people.
Instead, the international footballer-turned politician has boasted of bringing what he called massive development to this country such as roads, hospitals in just six years.
Last week, an Executive Mansion press release said: “President Weah, accompanied by members of the CDC campaign team, walked from point to point, identifying with citizens from one community to another, encouraging them to exercise their right to vote during the runoff election. He also urged them to vote #2 on the ballot for peace”
Calls for peaceful election
Meanwhile. ahead of Tuesday’s runoff elections, there are local and international calls on the two competing political parties to ensure a peaceful election in line with the Farmington River Declaration signed by all the political parties and candidates.
Campaigning in the October 10 presidential and legislative elections was marred by several incidents of violence, some of which led to deaths and injuries as well as damage to properties.