Why Supreme Court Suspended Weah-Boaki Run Off

Liberia elections -Following some allegations of “irregularities and frauds,” Liberia’s Supreme Court has halted the presidential run-off with just a day’s notice.

The court has ordered the elections body to investigate fraud allegations brought by a losing aspirant in the October 10, 2017 presidential elections.

See Also: Liberia Polls: Former President Mahama Reports Peaceful Elections So Far

The fraud allegations were lodged by the leader of the Liberty Party (LP) Charles Walker Brumskine, who placed third in the vote.

For this reason, the court ruled on Monday that Tuesday’s run-off vote will not hold until the National Elections Commission (NEC) completes its investigations.

Ex-international footballer George Weah and incumbent vice-president Joseph Boakai were initially booked to face a run-off on 7 November 2017 in the race to succeed President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

No new date has been set for the run-off poll which was scheduled for 7 November. Former football star George Weah and Vice-President Joseph Boakai are due to face each other in the second round vote.

Former international footballer George Weah was set to win the first round of the presidential election after the elections commission said he was leading with 39 percent of votes and less than 5 percent of precincts still to be counted.

However, with tallies in from 95.6 percent of polling stations, Weah took 39.0 percent of the votes and Boakai 29.1 percent; both well short of the 50-percent barrier required to win outright from the first round of voting.

Weah and Boakai led the field of initial 20 candidates who competed to succeed the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, at the Liberia elections.

Other candidates who took a significant share of votes, with veteran opposition leader Charles Brumskine at 9.8 percent; former Coca-Cola executive Alexander Cummings at 7.1 percent; and former-warlord-turned-preacher Prince Johnson at 7.0 percent.

The winner will replace Nobel Prize winner President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa’s first elected female head of state.

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