18th November, 2023
George Weah, the President of Liberia conceded that he has lost his bid for a second term of office to opposition leader, Joseph Boakai as the counting of ballots from the rerun of the tight run-off was being concluded late Friday.
With Bokai already leading with nearly 51 percent of the votes, Weah agreed that his opponent in the rerun election has taken a lead that his CDC cannot catch up with.
He therefore said it time to put national interest above personal interest by conceding defeat to Bokai.
“The results announced tonight, though not final, indicate that Boakai is in a lead that we cannot surpass,” Weah said in a speech on national radio late on Friday.
The football legend conceded that though his party lost the election, Liberia has won,” adding: “This is the time for graciousness in defeat”.
Boakai who lost to by a large margin in the second-round presidential vote in 2017 was 28,000 votes ahead of Weah in the counting of the ballots for last Tueday’s rerun election, according to Friday’s figures.
The 70-year-old Boakai and the 57-year-old Weah finished neck-and-neck in the first round of the election last month with the football legend leading by just 7,126 votes.
The United States has congratulated “president-elect Boakai on his victory and President Weah for his peaceful acceptance of the results”.
“We call on all citizens to follow President Weah’s example and accept the results,” US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.
‘Liberian People Have Spoken’
Weah said he had spoken to Boakai “to congratulate him on his victory”.
“The Liberian people have spoken, and we have heard their voice. However, the closeness of the results reveals a deep division within our country,” Weah said in his speech.
“Let us heal the divisions caused by the campaign and come together as one nation and one united people,” Weah said.
*Updated