MONROVIA, October 10 (Reuters) – Liberians turned out to vote in a general election on Tuesday, with President George Weah vying for a second term after a tumultuous six years marked by allegations of corruption and persistent economic challenges in Africa’s oldest independent republic.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Approximately 2.4 million eligible voters cast their ballots in this West African nation, still recovering from two devastating civil wars that claimed over 250,000 lives between 1989 and 2003, as well as a 2013-16 Ebola epidemic that caused thousands of deaths.
“I am here to elect a capable leader who will guide our nation, someone who will make education more affordable for our children,” said Nanny Davies, a mother of six who sells fish at a local market, standing in line with hundreds of others at the Baptist Field polling center in Monrovia’s southeast.
Polls opened at 08:00 (0800 GMT) and will close at 18:00. The electoral commission plans to release provisional results on Wednesday. To avoid a runoff, the winning candidate must secure more than 50% of the votes.
Analysts anticipate that the election is likely to lead to a runoff, with Weah, a 57-year-old former soccer star who was first elected in 2017, when Liberia experienced its first democratic transfer of power in seven decades, expected to maintain his position. He insists that he needs more time to fulfill his promise of rebuilding the nation’s economy, institutions,
