Joseph Boakai Triumphs Against George Weah Of Liberia

George Weah and Joseph Boakai

Liberia's George Weah concedes defeat to Boakai

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.

... Incumbent concedes defeat in presidential election

Liberian incumbent president and football legend George Weah conceded this defeat on Friday evening after nearly complete returns showed opposition leader Joseph Boakai leading with nearly 51 per cent of the run-off ballots.

"The results announced tonight, though not final, indicate that... Boakai is in a lead that we cannot surpass," Weah said in a speech on national radio.

The "CDC (party) has lost the election, but Liberia has won. This is the time for graciousness in defeat, to put national interest above personal interest," he said.

The anticipated triumph for former vice president Boakai would be a wonderful sort of retaliation for the 78-year-old, who was badly defeated by Weah, 57, in the 2017 second-round presidential election.

According to official results issued by the electoral commission, Boakai received 50.89 percent of the votes cast, while Weah received 49.11 percent, with more than 99.5 percent of polling places reporting vote counts following Tuesday's second-round vote.

"We call on all citizens to follow President Weah's example and accept the results," US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.

"Liberian people have spoken."

Weah said he had spoken to Boakai "to congratulate him on his victory".

"The Liberian people have spoken, and we have heard their voice. However, the closeness of the results reveals a deep division within our country," Weah said in his speech.

"Let us heal the divisions caused by the campaign and come together as one nation and one united people."

The elections marked the first since the peacekeeping presence of the United Nations was terminated in 2018 following two civil wars in Liberia that claimed over 250,000 lives between 1989 and 2003.