Liberia President George Weah on Friday conceded election defeat
to opposition leader Joseph Boakai after a tight race, ending a presidency
marred by graft allegations but helping to ensure a smooth transition of power
in the once volatile African nation.
Boakai, 78, a former vice president who lost to Weah in the 2017
election, led with 50.9% of the vote over Weah's 49.1%, with nearly all the
votes counted, the country's elections commission said on Friday.
The result marks a stark turnaround from 2017, when global
soccer legend Weah, buoyed by a wave of hope, trounced Boakai with 62 percent
of the vote. Many have since grown disillusioned with the lack of progress: Poverty,
unemployment, food insecurity and poor electricity supply persist.
"A few moments ago, I spoke with president elect Joseph
Boakai to congratulate him on his victory," Weah said on national radio.
"I urge you to follow my example and accept the results of the
elections."
Weah's concession paves the way for Liberia's second democratic
transfer of power in over seven decades - the first was when Weah swept to
power six years ago.
His comments stood out in West and Central Africa where there
have been eight military coups in three years, eroding faith in democratic
elections. When elections do go ahead in the region, accusations of fraud
abound and results are frequently contested in court.
Instead, Boakai supporters in the capital Monrovia danced,
shouted and honked car horns in the rain after the near-final results were
announced.
"We have a job ahead of us to do and I'm excited that the
citizens have given us approval," Boakai told Reuters shortly after the
results were announced. "First and foremost, we want to have a message of
peace and reconciliation."
Boakai, a softly spoken career politician, emerged neck-and-neck
with Weah in the first round of voting in October but below the 50% needed to
secure an outright victory, leading to Tuesday's run-off.
Liberia is struggling to recover from two civil wars that killed
more than 250,000 people between 1989 and 2003, and from a 2013-16 Ebola
epidemic that killed thousands.
Many felt that Weah did not follow through on promises to alleviate poverty and improve the country's crumbling infrastructure.
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