TheNewsGuru

Tag: boakai

  • Liberia Decides: Weah, Boakai set for runoff as none clinched required 50% of votes

    The presidential election in Liberia is set for a runoff as none of the candidates scored 50 per cent of votes after final tabulation of results.

    As at 9 p.m Sunday evening, results in 95.6 per cent of the polling units had been announced by the National Elections Commission of Liberia. Of the 5,390 polling places, results have been announced in 5,151 polling places.

    The former World footballer of the year, George Weah, leads other candidates with 572,374 votes or 39 per cent of total votes. He is followed by the current vice president, Joseph Boakai, who has 427,544 votes or 29.1 per cent, while Charles Brumskine has 144,353 votes or 9.8 per cent of votes.

    The Liberian electoral law requires the eventual winner to have at least 50 per cent of votes cast which none of the candidates will be able to meet in this round of elections.

    A run-off is thus expected between Mr. Weah, the only African to ever win the World footballer of the year award (1995) and Mr. Boakai who earlier on Sunday said he still hoped to be elected president.

    “As far as I’m concerned, I know the Unity Party is going to win the elections; nothing is going to stop it,” Mr. Boakai told journalists according to a report by the News Agency of Nigeria.

    “I went into the election to win, and I don’t settle for second round, I went to the polls for first round.”

     

  • Liberia election: Vice-President, Boakai boasts, says “Nothing can stop my victory”,

    Vice-President Joseph Boakai of Liberia says “nothing is going to stop” his victory in the Oct. 10 presidential elections.

    Speaking with newsmen in Monrovia, he expressed optimism of winning the election in the first round, although he is still second in the provisional results released so far.

    As at Saturday, Boakai of the ruling Unity Party was still the first runner up with 334,162 votes representing 29.6 per cent of the votes so far processed.

    Former football star, Mr George Manneh Weah of the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) was leading with 441,839 or 39.2 per cent.

    “As far as I’m concerned, I know the Unity Party is going to win the elections; nothing is going to stop it.

    “I went into the election to win, and I don’t settle for second round, I went to the polls for first round,” he said.

    To emerge as the winner of the presidential elections, a candidate must secure at least more than 50 per cent of the total votes cast to avoid a run-off.

    Twenty candidates contested in the election to succeed outgoing President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, who is stepping down after serving out her two terms.

    The Chairman of the National Elections Commission (NEC), Mr Jerome Kokorya, had released more provisional results on Saturday, bringing the total votes so far processed to 1.12 million.

    Korkoya said votes from 3,991 polling units had been processed as at Saturday out of a total of 5,390 units across the country.

    NAN also reports that 2.1 million voters registered for the 2017 general elections.

    Meanwhile, the opposition figure and presidential candidate of Liberty Party (LP), Mr Charles Brumskine, had alleged fraud in the elections, in spite the international observers adjudging it free and fair.

    Brumskine, who stood at a third position with 9.3 per cent, alleged the polls were marred by gross irregularities and fraud, calling for re-run.

     

    NAN