George Weah won the first round of the Presidential election 38.4 per cent of the vote
Liberia’s Supreme Court has stayed the Nov. 7 presidential run-off
election until it considers a challenge to first round results by a
losing candidate who has alleged fraud.
Third-place finisher Charles Brumskine’s Liberty Party challenged
the results of the October vote, which set up a Nov. 7 run-off between
former soccer star George Weah and Vice President Joseph Boakai.
The election is meant to usher in Liberia’s first democratic
transition since 1944 after long periods of military rule and a civil
war that ended in 2003.
In a writ issued late on Tuesday, the court instructed Liberty
Party and the National Elections Commission to file briefs by Thursday
at the latest.
It was unclear if the court would rule before Nov. 7.
“This is a big step in the right direction,” Liberty Party Chairman Benjamin Sanvee said in a statement.
“Thankfully, the Court recognises the gravity of the issues, and has taken action in defense of the law and democracy.”
On Monday, Boakai’s ruling Unity Party announced it was backing the legal challenge.
It accused President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, one of its own members,
of interfering in the Oct. 10 vote by holding private meetings with
election magistrates before the Oct. 10 poll.
Johnson-Sirleaf denied the meeting were inappropriate and
international observers like the European Union and the Carter Centre
have said that they saw no major problems with the first round vote.
Weah, a former soccer star in Europe, won the first round with 38.4
per cent of the vote to Boakai’s 28.8 per cent and picked up an
important endorsement on Friday from former warlord Prince Johnson, who
won eight per cent of the first-round vote.
Morluba Morlu, a senior official from Weah’s CDC party, said on Wednesday that he still expected the run-off to go ahead.
“It is sad for a ruling party that has been in power for 12 years (to) be crying,” he said of Unity Party’s support for the legal challenge.
“We don’t want any mockery of this election.”
-Reuters
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