Joseph Boakai, the leader of Liberia’s opposition, is slightly ahead of President George Weah in a run-off election, as reported by Reuters. This update comes from 22% of the polling stations, according to the country’s elections commission on Wednesday.
In the first round of the presidential election, Boakai and Weah were very close, but neither got more than 50% of the votes needed to win outright. The run-off is expected to be a close competition.
As of now, Boakai leads with 50.71% of the votes, while Weah has 49.29%, according to the commission’s data from 22.33% of the polling stations.
Weah is asking voters for more time to deliver on promises made during his first term, focusing on fighting corruption and improving lives. Liberia is still grappling with the aftermath of two civil wars from 1989 to 2003 and the Ebola epidemic from 2013 to 2016, which claimed thousands of lives.
Boakai, aged 78, who lost to Weah in the 2017 election, is campaigning to rescue the nation from what he sees as mismanagement by Weah’s government.
Original Source: Reuters
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