Footballer faces VP in Liberia election run-off

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Liberia will choose between a veteran politician and a famous former footballer when it votes for a new president in a delayed run-off election on Tuesday.

Vice-President Joseph Boakai and 1995 FIFA World Player of the Year George Weah will battle to replace Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the first democratically-elected female head of state in Africa’s history.

The West African nation remains one of the poorest countries in the world, despite Sirleaf’s efforts to help it recover from 14 years of civil war and a devastating Ebola outbreak.

After reaching the end of her two-term limit and 12 years in office, Sirleaf will step down with poverty, unemployment and corruption still persistent problems. The country's economy has been hit by a fall in commodity prices, meanwhile, and the Liberian currency is depreciating rapidly.

What happened in the first round?

Weah won the most votes in the first round in October, but in a field of 20 candidates was unable to pass the 50-percent margin required for an outright majority.

The former footballer and sitting senator won 38.4 percent to Boakai’s 28.8 percent, but the run-off election scheduled for November 7 was delayed when the vice-president's Unity Party joined forces with the Liberty Party to claim "massive irregularities and fraud."

The Supreme Court found the allegations could not be proved, and observers declared the vote credible.

Who are the candidates?

The former AC Milan striker is a huge star, and is particularly popular among Liberia’s large number of young voters. Now 51, Weah has been involved in politics since 2004 and ran unsuccessfully for the presidency in 2005 and the vice-presidency in 2011.

He has served as a senator for the Congress for Democratic Change since 2014. He has promised to set up an anti-corruption court and focused on education and job creation.

Weah’s running mate is Jewel Howard-Taylor, the ex-wife of Charles Taylor, the former president currently serving a 50-year jail sentence for war crimes committed in Sierra Leone. Weah has also been endorsed by Prince Johnson, the warlord-turned-preacher who won 8.2 percent in the first round.

The current vice-president has campaigned on a platform of stability and infrastructure investment. He argues that the Sirleaf administration had good policies, but failed to implement them effectively.

The 72-year-old leads the ruling Unity Party but has been dubbed “Sleepy Joe” after snoozing during campaign events.

Sirleaf has done little to back the candidacy of her deputy, and has backed away from the initial tentative support she gave. She was recently pictured at a public event with Weah.

Who's expected to win?

The crowded first-round field, and the prospect of low turnout given the poll is taking place on Boxing Day, makes the election tough to call despite Weah’s clear advantage in round one.

The former footballer is a big hit among younger Liberians, and 60 percent of the population is under 30. He will be reliant on that group to turn out but unlike his rival, he has received key endorsements.

An election worker moves boxes of voting materials at the National Elections Commission headquarters in Monrovia, Liberia on December 25, 2017. /Reuters Photo

"It's too close to call," Ibrahim Al-Bakri Nyei, a Liberian political analyst at London's School of Oriental and African Studies, told AFP, adding that Weah was in a similar position to 2005 when he lost despite widespread predictions of victory.

The election will result in Liberia’s first hand-over of power from one democratically-elected leader to another in 73 years.

Polling stations are due to open at 0800 GMT and close at 1800 for Liberia's 2.1 million registered voters. The results are expected within the coming week.

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