Former footballer George Weah 'struggling to score' second term as Liberia president

Liberia’s President George Weah and opposition candidate Joseph Boakai are neck-and-neck in the presidential election results, with almost three-quarters of the vote results in.

Mr Weah has a narrow lead of 43.8% against Mr Boakai’s 43.5%, with about 73% of the votes, the country’s National Elections Commission announced on Sunday.

By Sunday, the commission had announced results from 4,295 of the country’s 5,890 polling places.

Weah is a one-time World Footballer of the Year and also captained the Liberia national team for years before retiring and taking to politics.

The announcement came as the West African regional bloc Ecowas warned against declaration of “premature” victories.

It also called for all parties to uphold peace as they awaited the results, adding that they would be held accountable for any actions that could lead to violence and instability.

President Weah is seeking a second term in office.

Mr Boakai, who emerged second in the last elections, was deputy to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf when she was president.

The winner must get at least 50% of the vote to avoid a run-off elections.

Liberians went to the polls on 10 October to elect the president, members of the House of Representatives and half the Senate.



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