Football star George Weah wins Liberian presidential election
George Weah, the only African player to be both FIFA's world player of the year and win the Ballon d'Or, is Liberia's president.
Former professional footballer George Weah has won the Liberia presidential run-off.
The country's electoral commission said the ex-AC Milan, Chelsea and Manchester City striker had taken 61.5% of the vote from 98.1% of ballots cast.
He beat Vice President Joseph Boakai, who took 38.5% of the vote.
Mr Boakai has now conceded to Mr Weah and offered his congratulations.
Mr Weah, who tweeted: "Change is on," succeeds Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to become president next month, the country's first democratic transition since 1944.
Before the official results were announced, Mr Weah tweeted: "The Liberian people clearly made their choice... and all together we are very confident in the result of the electoral process."
The process had been delayed by several weeks after a legal challenge by Mr Boakai.
Armed police were stationed outside the polling body's headquarters on Thursday, as some of Mr Weah's supporters started their celebrations.
Mr Weah, 51, grew up in poverty in Liberia.
He was raised by his grandmother in one of the worst slums of Liberia's capital Monrovia, but he went on to have a glittering football career in the 1990s.
He played for a number of different teams in Africa before being transferred to Monaco where he was coached by Arsene Wenger.
He also played for Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan, Chelsea and Man City.
He has been senator for Montserrado County in Liberia after being elected in 2014.
He won 38.4% of votes in the first round on 10 October, while his opponent Mr Boakai came second with 28.8%.
This triggered the run-off as neither made it past the 50% needed for an outright win.
0 comments:
Post a Comment