Liberian President and football legend, George Weah has formally conceded defeat to Joseph Boakai after a tight presidential run-off.
The country’s elections commission said on Friday that the 78-year-old Boakai, a former vice president, has managed to secure a narrow victory with 50.9 percent of the vote to Weah’s 49.1 percent, with almost all the votes counted.
Weah who said his rival’s win indicates a victory for the people of Liberia, urged Liberians to accept the election outcome, adding that “our time will come again” in 2029 when Boakai’s six-year term in office ends.
The results mark a considerable shift compared with 2017 when former international football star Weah had succeeded in defeating Boakai comfortably by garnering 62 percent of the vote.
He had ridden a wave of public hope to the presidency, promising to combat poverty, develop the country’s ailing infrastructure and crackdown on injustice and corruption.
But voters grew disillusioned over time and the 57-year-old Weah was accused of failing to live up to his election promises to improve conditions in the West African nation.
