Liberia’s political veteran Boakai declared president-elect

Liberia’s political veteran and former vice-president Joseph Nyumah Boakai was on Monday (21 November) formally declared winner of the 14 November presidential election, defeating incumbent and former international football star George Weah.
Boakai won with 50.64% of the vote, against 49.36% of the vote garnered by Weah, with a margin of only 20,567 votes, Davidetta Browne Lansanah, President of the National Electoral Commission (NEC), told the press after completing the ballot count. The outgoing president had already conceded defeat on Friday, winning praise from abroad for promoting a non-violent transition in a region marred by coups. The African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) congratulated the president-elect for his victory, with the latter stating that “Liberians have once again demonstrated that democracy is alive in the ECOWAS region and that change is possible through peaceful means.”
Since 2020, ECOWAS states have seen abrupt regime changes with military forces seizing power by force in four of the fifteen member countries: Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso and Niger. This has also led the AU to hail Weah, a football legend, for his “statesmanship and gracefully accepting the outcome of the elections.” AU chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat called on all parties to continue to “display maturity and embrace dialogue to consolidate democracy, inclusiveness and the rule of law.” Boakai, who is poised to be inaugurated in January 2024, assured the nation that the “next few years will be a period of fulfillment and not hope anymore.”