29 December 2017

LIBERIA MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

Weah’s 61.5% sparks jubilation, Source: The ANALYST

The paper reported a pre-victory celebration in Monrovia and other parts of the country as the preliminary presidential runoff election result puts Senator George Weah of the main opposition Coalition of Democratic Change (CDC) in the lead. National Elections Commission (NEC) chairman, Jerome Korkoya Thursday announced a 61.5 percent lead of Senator Weah over his rival, Vice President Joseph Boakai of the ruling Unity Party (UP).

CDCians Welcome Victory with Celebrations, Source: Daily OBSERVER

Thousands of partisans of the main opposition Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) Thursday in Monrovia and throughout the country could not hold back their joy, with many of them proclaiming the beginning of an unspecified number of days of jubilation to celebrate former soccer star George Weah’s presidential victory.

NEC chairman Jerome Korkoya’s first provisional announcement that the CDC had secured 61.5% of the total 98.1% of the total votes tallied in the runoff elections, was overwhelmingly interpreted to mean that Weah has eclipsed Vice President Joseph Boakai of the ruling Unity Party (UP) in the election.

From Paynesville to the Monrovia suburb of Duala and across the country, CDC partisans flooded the streets congratulating one another for a job well done. “We said we would retire old man Boakai,” many said. “Today our problems will be over”; and like her, many of the young partisans are convinced that a Weah Administration will be the end of their ‘suffering,’ a young female supporter near the ELWA Junction in Paynesville said.

Of course, CDC partisans, particularly party leaders, including its deputy campaign manager Mulbah Morlu, did not express any surprise over the victory. “It was a foregone conclusion that we (CDC) would win because for 12 years the UP did not do well for the country and we wanted a new party to take over from them,” said a partisan. Read more

CDC Youth Chair Lauds Peers for Historic Victory, Source: Daily OBSERVER

CDC Youth League chair, Jefferson Koijee has congratulated his peers, whose relentless efforts, he said, had ensured victory for the party. “We want to appreciate the AU, EU, The Carter Center, and most especially our own supporters and partisans. We want to also appreciate our critics, whose criticisms helped us in many ways, including winning the runoff election,” Mr. Koijee told reporters Thursday in Monrovia at the party’s headquarters in the Monrovia suburb of Congo Town.

He said the CDC remains grateful to the people of Liberia for the election of Senator George Weah, who has remained in opposition to the government of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf for the last 12 years with the backing of some members of the youth population. He continued: “We are delighted that Senator Weah understands the needs of the youth, which include unemployment and the lack of quality education but believes strongly that the youth will benefit from the party’s pending decisions that will come shortly after the inauguration.” Read more

Carter Center Wants Legislation to Address Electoral Gaps, Source: Daily OBSERVER

The Carter Center (TCC) International Observer Mission in Liberia wants members of the Legislature to enact a law that will require a full review of electoral legislation through an inclusive consultative process to address gaps and inconsistencies, with the goal of bringing the legal framework in line with international standards for democratic elections. The recommendation was contained in TCC’s preliminary elections statement issued Thursday following the December 26 presidential runoff.

TCC Observer Mission in Monrovia headed by Senegal former prime minister, Dr. Aminata Touré told a news confab that following a careful review and timing of the elections, and the timeframes for resolving electoral disputes, the aim of condensing the timeline and streamlining the hearing process, was to bring the process in line with international standards for an effective remedy. Dr. Toure said setting a timeframe to resolve election-related disputes in line with international standards will be one best way to prevent conflict in the electoral process in Liberia. Read more

ECC, EU Say Preliminary Reports Show Credible, Transparent Runoff, Source: Daily OBSERVER

Preliminary reports from the Elections Coordinating Committee (ECC) and the EU-Election Observation Mission have determined that the National Elections Commission (NEC) conducted the just-ended presidential runoff election in adherence to the election law, and the Supreme Court mandate.

The ECC report released Thursday revealed that unlike the October 10 first-round election, where 41 percent of polling places remained open past the designated closing time (6:00 p.m.) as stipulated in the election law, 85 percent polls during the second-round closed exactly by the designated time, and 15 percent closed 30 minutes after the designated time. The report added that at 99 percent of polling places observed, the Final Registration Roll (FRR) was made public and that 98 percent of polling places vote tallying forms were systematically wall-posted which was not properly done before.

Maria Arena, the EU election observation mission chief observer noted that the additional deployment of queue controllers and their training had a positive impact on the election procedures in and outside the polling places, facilitating the exercise of the right to vote.

“The closing and counting procedures were very good (52 percent) but there were some challenges on filling forms by polling staff and minor procedural imperfections for not applying indelible ink on fingers.  Importantly, the EU observer also noted that the polling staff advised voters on verifying their record on the FRR posted on the wall. This facilitates voters to go to the correct polling places-an improvement on the first round of elections,” Ms. Arena added. Read more

LCC applauds NEC, Source: The ANALYST

The Liberia Council of Churches (LCC) has applauded the National Elections Commission (NEC) for updating its Final Registration Roll (FRR) and improving the  election mechanism, and at the same time recognized the role played by international partners and  observers, including ECOWAS, the UN, AU, the US Government, EU, and others. In a statement, the LCC said it was pleased with the conduct of the presidential runoff election and urged supporters of both the main opposition Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) and the ruling Unity Party (UP) to remain calm until the final result is announced by the electoral commission.

LP dissolves election posts others, Source: The ANALYST

A press release issued by the opposition Liberty Party (LP) says the party, in keeping with its constitution and by-laws, have dissolved the positions of standard bearer and vice standard bearer of the LP effective Sunday, 31 December. The release quotes the party standard bearer, Cllr. Charles Brumskine as making the disclosure. The release stated that Cllr. Brumskine will act as the political leader of the party until a special convention is held in six-month time.

Man, 19, Charged with Fraudulent Voter Registration, Source: Daily OBSERVER

The Daily Observer reports that defendant Obediah Logan, the man caught in possession of two voter registration cards with ID numbers 74198541 and 766321587 during the December 26 presidential runoff election, has been charged and forwarded to the Monrovia City Court for trial. Police authorities claimed that the cards had Logan’s name and photo on them, for which they charged him with fraudulent registration.

The incident, according to the court document, occurred on December 26 at the Love a Child Orphanage Home in Margibi County Electoral District #1. The record further said that Logan obtained the first Voter Registration Card (VRC) from polling Precinct #24106 at the Rock Institute, Rock Church Community, in Margibi County Electoral District #1, and obtained the second VRC at voting Precinct #30309 at the Love a Child Orphanage Home. Read more

Prez Sirleaf Declares January 1, National Holiday, Source: Daily OBSERVER

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has by proclamation declared Monday, 1 January  2018 as New Year’s Day, and it is to be observed throughout the country as a National Holiday, a release from the Foreign Ministry has said. According to the release, President Sirleaf calls upon all citizens and foreign residents to observe the Day and directs that all government offices and business houses be closed from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Read more

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA ON LIBERIA

George Weah Wins Liberia Election, Unofficial Results Show, Source: The New York Times

For decades, Liberia has waited through war and strongmen for a peaceful democratic transfer of power. On Thursday, as the last ballots in a presidential election were being tallied, that appeared to be on the verge of happening.

Unofficial elections returns showed that George Weah, a former international soccer star, defeated the sitting vice president, two former warlords, and his own ex-girlfriend and won the right to succeed the first woman democratically elected as president of an African country.

It was Mr. Weah’s third bid to lead Liberia, a nation founded almost two centuries ago by freed American blacks. He will succeed Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

In electing Mr. Weah, Liberian voters are investing in him hopes that he can build on one certain accomplishment of Mrs. Sirleaf: keeping the country out of war. But Mrs. Sirleaf’s government has also been plagued with corruption charges, high unemployment and a shambolic health system that is still trying to regain its footing after the devastation of the 2014 Ebola epidemic, which killed more people in Liberia than anywhere else. Read more

Liberians hail victory of ex-football star Weah in landmark vote, Source: AFP

Liberians reveled Friday in former football star George Weah's presidential victory, in the country's first democratic transfer of power in seven decades scarred by civil wars, political assassinations, and an Ebola crisis. Weah, idolized in Liberia as "Mister George", is set to replace Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who took over in 2006 at the helm of the West African state founded by freed US slaves.

The 51-year-old starred at top-flight European clubs Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan in the 1990s, before briefly playing for Chelsea and Manchester City toward the end of his career. Weah, who entered politics in 2002, easily beat his rival Vice President Joseph Boakai in Thursday's run-off vote.

With almost all ballots counted, National Election Commission (NEC) President Jerome Korkoya said final results would be released on Friday. But Weah wasted no time in acknowledging his win. "My fellow Liberians, I deeply feel the emotion of all the nation. I measure the importance and the responsibility of the immense task which I embrace today. Change is on," he posted on Twitter late on Thursday. Read more

Celebrations as soccer star Weah set to be Liberia's leader, Sources: ABC News and AP

Celebrations have begun in Liberia as former FIFA World Player of the Year George Weah is set to be declared the winner of the West African nation's presidential election. With more than 98 percent of votes counted late Thursday from this week's runoff, Weah received 61.5 percent of ballots while Vice President Joseph Boakai received 38.5 percent.

Liberia, a nation founded by freed American slaves, is seeing its first democratic transfer of power in more than 70 years as Africa's first female president, Nobel Peace Prize winner Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, steps aside. She led the country from back-to-back civil wars and saw it through a deadly Ebola outbreak that killed nearly 5,000 Liberians but was criticized for not better tackling corruption.

The 51-year-old Weah, a senator who entered politics after his 2002 retirement from soccer, led the first-round vote in October but didn't receive enough ballots to win outright over the 73-year-old Boakai, who has been vice president for 12 years. Sirleaf didn't publicly support either candidate.

The spokesman for Boakai's Unity Party, Mohammed Ali, told broadcaster Capitol FM that the party won't challenge the runoff results in court "because the vast majority of the Liberian people have spoken." Read more

Liberia: What George Weah told Liberians after winning presidential election, Source: Daily Post

Liberian President-elect, George Weah, has told the people of the country that “change is on.” The ex-football superstar was announced the winner on Thursday of Liberia’s presidential run-off. He defeated Vice President Joseph Boakai in the first democratic transfer of power in decades following two devastating civil wars.

The former Chelsea player is set to replace incumbent Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who took over at the helm of Africa’s oldest republic in 2006. The Liberian National Election Commission, NEC, announced that Weah had won an insurmountable 61.5 percent of Tuesday’s vote, which was delayed several weeks after a legal challenge from Boakai. The NEC said that with 98.1 percent of all votes counted, Boakai had only secured 38.5 percent support. NEC chairman Jerome Korkoya told reporters that definitive results would be released Friday.

But Weah wasted no time to post on Twitter, “My fellow Liberians, I deeply feel the emotion of all the nation. I measure the importance and the responsibility of the immense task which I embrace today. Change is on.” Read more

Disclaimer
 

This media summary consists of selected local media articles for the information of UN personnel. The public distribution of this media summary is a courtesy service extended by UNMIL on the understanding that the choice of articles included is exclusive, and the contents do not represent anything other than a selection of articles likely to be of interest to a United Nations readership. The inclusion of articles in this summary does not imply endorsement by UNMIL.

 

 

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