A run-off to elect Liberia’s first post-war president was made official on Wednesday with the certification of votes that give footballer George Weah the edge over banker Ellen Johnson Sirleaf going into the November 8 polls.
”None of the candidates was able to get more than 50% of the votes as is required by law to win in the first round,” National Electoral Commission (NEC) chairperson Frances Johnson Morris said.
”I hereby announce that there will be a run-off presidential election and call on all Liberians to go vote massively on November 8.”
Weah, a high-school dropout with no political experience, has the numbers on his side to win in a landslide, racking up endorsements from eight of his 20 defeated rivals for the presidency in the past several days.
”But relying only on the numbers for this round is not prudent, because the voters will not necessarily follow what their standard-bearer says,” noted Noumou Diakite, representative for the African Union to Liberia.
Certainly Weah himself has taken a much more moderate tone in recent days, in stark contrast to the bluster and certainty of a landslide victory shown before the October 11 vote where he garnered only 28,3% of votes cast.
”Now that we have been told officially that we have qualified for the run-off, we will get on our feet to go to our people and convince them to vote for us,” Weah told reporters after the official announcement.
His rival, Harvard-educated banker Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, has also corralled some endorsements from among the vanquished presidential contenders, and is counting on her party’s machine to drum up support in rural areas on the strength of her long history in the government.
Johnson Sirleaf earned 19,8% of the more than one million votes cast on October 11, a turnout of about 74%, according to the NEC.
”This is our nation and this is a very crucial time for all Liberians to think wisely and choose the best person to move the country forward,” the one-time World Bank economist said on Wednesday.
Fears that Liberty Party candidate Charles Brumskine, in third place, would contest the October 11 polls were not realised as the businessman-lawyer withdrew an unofficial demand for a recount in northern Nimba county.
Brumskine has not, however, chosen to endorse either of the two front-runners, telling his activists that they are ”free to vote for who they wanted” in a statement on Tuesday.
The rush to build alliances of convenience with both candidates underscores beliefs that nothing will change with these elections, aimed to close the book on a history of lawlessness and corruption that has transformed Liberia from one of Africa’s most prosperous nations into one of its most wretched.
Analysts also suggest that even if the math gives Weah an advantage, it may not translate into votes on November 8.
”Our recent surveys reveal that majority of the people are still waiting to make up their minds, so in the time before the run-off, there are many things that will catalyse the votes by the population,” said University of Liberia professor Joe Mulbah, director of the PollWatch newspaper.
”First, who of the two candidates can easily reunite Liberians? Then, who among them will think first about developing the country? The answers to those questions will be serious catalysers of votes.” — Sapa-AFP