The Liberia elections commission announced on Friday that opposition leader Joseph Boakai is set to become the country’s next president as the vote count nears completion.
With results from 99.6% of polling stations tallied, Boakai holds 50.89% of the vote, while incumbent President George Weah has 49.11%, putting Boakai in the lead.
Boakai and Weah were both close in the first round of voting in October, but neither managed to secure the necessary 50% for an outright victory, leading to a run-off on Tuesday.
The election has been closely watched as a barometer for support for former soccer star Weah, who has faced criticism during his first term for not doing enough to address corruption, both from the opposition and from Liberia’s international partners.
Boakai, 78, who was defeated by Weah in the 2017 election, has campaigned on the promise of rescuing the nation from what he describes as mismanagement under Weah’s administration.
(Reporting by Carielle Doe and Alphonso Toweh; Writing by Anait Miridzhanian; Editing by Louise Heavens and Jonathan Oatis)
