• Boakai or Weah …Who Will They Support? Source: New DEMOCRAT
• NEC Admits to Inadvertent Errors, Source: The INQUIRER
• No Election Results Yet – NEC Calls on Parties on Attend Tally at SKD, Source: The ANALYST
• America applauds Liberians, says all must look to NEC for announcement of results, Sources: INSIGHT, The ANALYST, and The INQUIRER
• CDC claims intimidation, Source: The New Dawn
• Election violence wounds six, Source: The New Dawn
• ALP, UP observers threaten lawsuit, Source: The New Dawn
• Liberian elections plagued with voting irregularities, Source: ABC
• Liberia braces for election results, opposition party cries foul, Source: Euro News
• Ellen Johnson Sirleaf leaves big shoes to fill for Liberia's next president, Source: The National

Boakai or Weah …Who Will They Support? Source: New DEMOCRAT

As the nation awaits the pronouncement of the first provisional results of the 10 October 2017 Presidential and Legislative Elections today, reading of results posted at various centers across the country suggest the ruling Unity Party (UP) of Vice President Joseph Boakai and the main opposition Coalition for Democratic (CDC) of Senator George Weah could go head-to-head in a runoff, while the remaining 18 candidates will have to choose who to support in an eventual runoff.

Mr. Boakai campaigned on integrity and trust with a promise to increase public spending on infrastructure, mainly roads and agriculture to boost economic growth and development. On his part, Mr. Weah pledged to create an anti-corruption court and a watchdog program to combat the widespread practice of bribery.

NEC Admits to Inadvertent Errors, Source: The INQUIRER

Addressing his first post-election press conference Wednesday in Monrovia, the chairman of the National Elections Commission (NEC), Cllr. Jerome Korkoya admitted to some inadvertent errors which were done by NEC workers on the day of voting, especially those responsible to control the polling exercise. He apologized to the voters for the long waiting time in some polling places and at the same time commended the NEC staff workers.

No Election Results Yet – NEC Calls on Parties on Attend Tally at SKD, Source: The ANALYST

In a release issued Wednesday, the National Elections Commission (NEC) said “it is compared to clarify that it has not begun releasing provisional results of the 10 October 2017 elections as yet following observation that some voters and the general public are raising concern over the wave of public radio announcement of unofficial results of the 2017 elections.”

NEC stresses that when it begins to release provisional results, today Thursday, the process will be done at the NEC Media Center, in the full glare of national and international media practitioners as well as national and international partners and observers. NEC also said the provisional results will be posted on its official website: www.necliberia.org and on its official Facebook and Twitter accounts.

ECOWAS Satisfied with Elections’ Conduct – Urges NEC to Conclude with Fairness, Openness, Source: The ANALYST

The ECOWAS Elections Observation Mission (EEOM) to Liberia has expressed satisfaction on the conduct of Tuesday’s presidential and representative elections in the country, despite acknowledging some administrative and logistic challenges.

Addressing a press conference Wednesday in Monrovia, the head of EEOM, former Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama announced the mission’s preliminary findings on the elections and stated that for most part of the elections, polling places opened on time, poll workers and observers were on time thus enabling the setting up of materials on time; and materials were delivered in sufficient quantity. However, the EEOM head said there were delays at few polling centers due to the late arrival of electoral materials, and also due to lack of understanding of voting procedures by voters.

America applauds Liberians, says all must look to NEC for announcement of results, Sources: INSIGHT, The ANALYST, and The INQUIRER

In a statement issued by the U.S. Department of State yesterday, it applauded Liberians for the success of Tuesday’s elections while also urging all to patiently await the official results from the National Elections Commission (NEC). In the statement, the US said it stands by Liberia as it continues to build its democracy and future.

CDC claims intimidation, Source: The New Dawn

The chairman of the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) has claimed that Tuesday’s poll was marred by intimidation of voters, especially first-time voters. At a press conference in Monrovia, Mr. Nathaniel McGill noted that delay tactics reportedly introduced by some poll workers were directly meant to intimidate the voters. However, Mr. McGill said the CDC has confidence in the Board of Commissioners of the electoral body until prove otherwise.

Election violence wounds six, Source: The New Dawn

Reports say six people were wounded and three houses destroyed in election violence in Sinoe County between supporters of the Movement for Economic Empowerment (MOVEE) and the ruling Unity Party (UP) in Electoral District #3. It began according to report when supporters of the UP candidate, Matthew Zarzar were jubilating having taken a lead in the election and later turned violent when MOVEE candidate, Shadrick Kono joined in to stop the jubilating crowd. The police were later called in to contain the situation according to the report.

ALP, UP observers threaten lawsuit, Source: The New Dawn

Some election observers of the ruling Unity Party (UP) and the opposition All Liberian Party (ALP) have threatened to challenge election results from the C.D. B. King polling center on Camp Johnson Road in Monrovia in court. It is said to have followed confusion between the poll observers and police assigned at the center. ALP and UP observers, and independent candidate representative claimed they were prevented from entering the voting center when the ballots were about to be counted despite their accreditation and assignment at the center.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA ON LIBERIA

Liberian elections plagued with voting irregularities, Source: ABC

The west African nation of Liberia will tonight know the outcome of its third national election since the country ended a violent civil war in 2003. It also marks the end of the leadership of the first woman elected to lead a government in Africa, Nobel prize winner Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

News editor Rodney Sieh says that voting irregularities, such as voters being told their names were not on the electoral roll, may reveal the influence of convicted war criminal and former Liberian president Charles Taylor.

Liberia braces for election results, opposition party cries foul, Source: Euro News

One of Liberia’s main opposition parties has called for a halt in announcing the result of Tuesday’s presidential election, citing irregularities in the vote.

The Liberty Party’s candidate Charles Brumskine was considered one of the front-runners to take over from Nobel Peace Prize winner Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, but local media reports put former football star George Weah and Vice President Joseph Boakai in the lead. The National Elections Commission (NEC) was expected to release preliminary results on Thursday.

“The Liberty Party is deeply troubled by the discovery of numerous incidents of irregularities and fraud that occurred during the elections,” Liberty Party national chairman Benjamin Sanvee said in a statement.

“We are calling on NEC to immediately halt further announcements of election results. If NEC does not cooperate with our request, we will take the appropriate legal action,” he said.

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf leaves big shoes to fill for Liberia's next president, Source: The National

If the size of a president's trophy cabinet is any measure of success, then Ellen Johnson Sirleaf will be a hard act to follow. The outgoing Liberian leader has received all manner of awards and laurels during her 12 years in office, including the Nobel Peace Prize, the US Presidential Medal of Freedom – America’s highest civilian honour – and no less than eight honorary degrees, among them awards from both Yale and Harvard.

As Africa's first elected woman president, Ms. Sirleaf managed to be all things to all men and all women: feminists lauded her work on women's rights, celebrity aid activists such as Bono championed her war on poverty, and institutions such as the International Monetary Fund praised her handling of Liberia’s war-ravaged finances.

All of which means that her departure will inevitably leave a gap - not just for Liberia's five million people, but for West Africa as a whole. The Sirleaf "halo" shone well beyond her own borders - putting the spotlight on a long-neglected and underdeveloped region, and setting precedents that have made it a beacon for democracy on the continent.