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Agence France-Presse

Liberians revelled on 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, idolised 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 towards 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.
Hundreds of his supporters took to the streets of the capital Monrovia, singing, dancing and embracing each other as news of his victory spread.

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.
— George Weah (@GeorgeWeahOff) December 28, 2017

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“I’ve never been so happy in all my life. We were in opposition for 12 years. We’re going to make history, like the children of South Africa did,” said Josephine Davies, vice-president of the youth wing of Weah’s Congress for Democratic Change.
French President Emmanuel Macron hailed the ex-star striker’s victory in a tweet on Friday. “Congratulations to Mister George for this election! Great moment for Liberia!”
The NEC said Weah won 61.5 per cent of the run-off vote, which was delayed several weeks after a legal challenge from Boakai, following October’s first round.
It said that with 98.1 per cent of all votes counted, Boakai had only secured 38.5 per cent support.
Before Thursday’s result announcement, armed and helmeted police deployed outside the poll body’s headquarters as Weah supporters gathered and began rejoicing.


Sirleaf’s office said it had set up a team “for the proper management and orderly transfer of executive power from one democratically elected president to another”, adding that it included several ministers.
The tumultuous events of the past 70 years in Liberia, where an estimated 250,000 people died during back-to-back civil wars between 1989-2003, have prevented a democratic handover from taking place since 1944.
Sirleaf’s predecessor Charles Taylor fled the country in 2003, hoping to avoid prosecution for funding rebel groups in neighbouring Sierra Leone. Two presidents who served before Taylor were assassinated.

The Sirleaf administration, elected in 2005, guided the nation out of the ruins of war and through the horrors of the 2014-16 Ebola crisis, but is accused of failing to combat poverty and corruption.
Weah, the only African ever to have won both FIFA’s World Player of the Year and the coveted Ballon d’Or, missed out on the presidency in a 2005 bid.
He was similarly frustrated when he ran for vice-president in 2011, but his CDC party repeatedly urged its young and exuberant supporters to keep calm.
Weah’s latest campaign was not without controversy, however.
He has drawn some criticism for picking Jewel Howard-Taylor, the powerful ex-wife of Charles Taylor, as his vice-president.

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Africa

Liberia elects former football star George Weah as president, capping his rags-to-riches story

Supporters of George Weah celebrate after the announcement of the presidential election results in Monrovia, Liberia. Photo: Reuters

Supporters of George Weah, former soccer player and presidential candidate of Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC), celebrate after the announcement of the presidential election results in Monrovia, Liberia, December 28, 2017. REUTERS/Thierry Gouegnon

(FILES) This file photograph taken on June 22, 2013, shows former football player and Liberia's then main opposition leader (CDC), George Weah (R) as he presents his Ballon D'or trophy to Liberia's President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (C) during a Peace Initiative football match between African all stars and Liberian all stars at the Samuel Doe stadium in Monrovia. Former star footballer George Weah was named winner of Liberia's presidential election on December 29, 2017, easily beating his challenger in the country's first democratic transfer of power in seven decades scarred by civil wars, political assassinations and an Ebola crisis. / AFP PHOTO / STR

(FILES) In this file photo taken on September 25, 2017 former football player and candidate in Liberia's presidential elections, George Weah poses during a photo session in Paris. Former football star George Weah won Liberia's presidential run-off with a projected 61.5 percent of the vote, the country's election commission said on December 28, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / JOEL SAGET

(FILES) In this file photo taken on October 28, 2000 Marseille's striker George Weah (R) vies for the ball with Strasbourg's Luis Belloso during the French football championship match between Strasbourg and Marseille at the Meinau Stadium in Strasbourg, easter France. Ex-football superstar George Weah was announced the winner on December 28, 2017 of Liberia's presidential run-off, beating Vice President Joseph Boakai in the first democratic transfer of power in decades following two devastating civil wars. / AFP PHOTO / Franck FIFE

Vice-President Boakai and ex-footballer Weah to contest run-off election in Liberia next month

A supporter of Liberian presidential candidate Joseph Boakai at a campaign rally in the port city of Buchanan City last month. Photo: EPA

epa06227029 Joseph N Boakai, Presidential Candidate of the governing Unity Party(UP), and incumbent Vice president of Liberia speaks to supporters during a campaign rally in the port city of Buchanan City, Grand Bassa County, Liberia, 25 September 2017. The Presidential and General Elections are scheduled for 10 October 2017, and Liberians are to elect a new President to succeed incumbent President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. The 2017 Presidential election is expected to be Liberia's first peaceful transition of power from a democratically elected President to another after almost four decades. EPA-EFE/AHMED JALLANZO

FILE PHOTO: George Weah, former soccer player and presidential candidate of Congress for Democratic Change (CDC), votes at a polling station in Monrovia, Liberia, October 10, 2017. REUTERS/Thierry Gouegnon/File Photo

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