Boakai, Weah battle for office

By Lincoln G. Peters

Liberia’s opposition leader Amb. Joseph Nyumah Boakai and incumbent President George Manneh Weah have emerged so far as the archrivals in the battle for the presidency following Tuesday’s polls.

The National Elections Commission (NEC) began announcing preliminary election results Wednesday evening, 11 October 2023 after the Tuesday polls for presidential and legislative seats.

Mr. Weah is seeking re-election against 19 opposition candidates. But it seems that the battle has now been narrow to just one opponent, former Vice President. The two politicians previously battled in the 2017 run-off that brought the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) to power in January 2018.

To the disappointment of many, NEC preliminary results released captured just few polling centers from two of Liberia’s fifteen counties-Bomi and Montserrado showing a tight race between the two.

Releasing the preliminary results from Montserrado and Bomi Counties, NEC chairperson Madam Davidette Brown-Lasanah said that the results are progressively tallied reports.

According to the NEC boss, the results released are tallied results from magisterial offices which have been progressively transmitted through the data center at the NEC headquarters where they have been collated for announcement.

She said in Bomi County, 13 polling places out of 171 polling places (7.60%) were collated. Opposition leader Amb. Boakai of the Unity Party obtained 2,543 votes constituting 64.01%, while President Weah of the CDC obtained 1,134 votes, constituting 28.54%.

Additionally, she said the All-Liberian Coalition Party (ALCOP) standard bearer Mr. Lusinee F. Kamara, Sr., obtained 34 votes constituting 0.86% while Alexander B. Cummings of the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) got 32 votes, amounting to 0.18%.

Madam Brown-Lansanah continued that Liberian People’s Party (LPP) standard bearer Cllr. Tiawan Saye Gongloe got 16 votes, amounting to 0.40%.

The NEC boss disclosed that the total valid votes from 13 polling places out of the 171 polling places is 3,973, while invalid votes amounted to 153. She said the total votes were 4,126.

Regarding Montserrado County, Madam Brown-Lansanah provided preliminary results of 3 polling places of the 2008 polling places in Montserrado County amounting 0.15%.

She explained that the reports are progressively tallied reports.

From the three polling places collated so far, Madam Brown-Lansanah said Boakai obtained 576 votes amounting to 47.56%, while Weah got 547 votes amounting to 45.17%. 

She reported that the CPP’s Alexander B. Cummings got 39 votes constituting 3.22%, and Cllr. Gongloe of LPP obtained 8 votes amounting 0.66%.

ALCOP standard bearer Mr. Kamara got three votes amounting to 0.255.

Providing senatorial results for Bomi County, she said former House Speaker Alex J. Tyler, an independent candidate, got 1,599 votes amounting to 40.79%, while independent candidate Adama S. Dorley obtained 1,688 votes constituting 43.06%.

On the Bomi representative results from district number one, Madam Finda Lansanah, an independent candidate obtained 2,339 votes amounting to 59.58% out of the 13 polling places collated from the 50 polling places.

Mr. Sonnie Kamara got 1,402 votes amounting to 35.71%.

At the same time, she said of 3 polling places collated from 2008 polling places in Montserrado County, CDC’s incumbent Senator Saah Joseph obtained 665 votes while UP’s Wilmot Paye obtained 295 votes, amounting to 25.17%.

For Montserrao County Electoral District #10, Madam Brown Lansanah said incumbent opposition Representative Yekeh Kolubah obtained 171 votes amounting to 44.65%, while CDC’s Josephine Davies got 144 votes of the 3 polling places out of 129 polling places, constituting 37.60%.