George Weah Finally Announced As Liberia's President Elect

Former football star, George Tawlon Manneh Oppong Ousman Weah, a retired professional footballer who played as a striker. 

Regarded as one of the greatest African players of all-time and as one of the best forwards of his generation, a 1995 FIFA World Player of the Year and the first African Ballon d’Or winner, has won the Liberian Presidential run-off election, beating Vice President, Joseph Boakai.

Mr Weah, 51, topped the first round of voting but did not secure the 50 percent needed to win outright.

The run-off was initially scheduled for November 7, but the vote was delayed after the party of a third candidate filed a legal complaint alleging voter fraud and irregularities.

Mr Weah now succeeds President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa’s first elected female head of state, whose 12-year rule helped cement peace in Liberia after two bloody civil wars, which spanned 14 years before ending in 2003.

According to Aljazeera, A spokesman for the National Elections Commission of Liberia, Henry Boyd Flomo, called the election “significant” and “historic“.

“It’s historic because, for many years, we haven’t had a sitting president willingly, democratically turn over to another person,” Flomo said.

“And it’s the third consecutive election since the civil war. So it’s quite important and we take it very seriously.

“What we hope is that the candidates respect the views of the voters.”