Liberia's closest election in two decades is now headed for a runoff, as per the official provisional results announced by the country's electoral commission. In the election, which took place on October 10, neither the incumbent president nor his main opponent managed to secure a majority.
As of Wednesday 18th October 2021, the incumbent, George Weah, renowned for his past as a soccer superstar, had garnered 43.8 percent of the vote, with over 98 percent of the ballots counted. His main rival, Joseph Boakai, a seasoned figure in Liberian politics who held the vice presidency from 2006 to 2018, closely followed with 43.5 percent of the vote.
This historic election marked the first time that Liberia's government independently organized and conducted such a contest, without relying on financial support or assistance from international partners.
Although the election was predominantly peaceful, a concerning incident marred the process when unidentified individuals stole ballot boxes in two polling stations in the country's northeast. Consequently, hundreds of voters in one district will need to cast their ballots once again this week.
Its against this background that the African Elections Observers Network(AfEONet) together with Alliance for Finance Monitoring(ACFIM) are organising this webinar to analyse the election process, draw parrallels between Liberia's experience and other African nations facing democratic challenges, identify key lessons learned and discuss their implications for broader African context.