Liberians await outcome of presidential vote

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Voting in Liberia's delayed runoff presidential election has closed as the country awaits its first democratic transition of power in 73 years.

The day unfolded smoothly, with no reports of violence to puncture a mood of Christmas celebration.

Polling stations across the country officially closed at 1800 GMT Tuesday. Official results were expected to start trickling out later.

More than 2.1 million voters had registered to vote throughout Liberia, established by the United States in the 19th century for freed black slaves.

There were reports of a low turnout of voters across the country as waves of people are said to have traveled to their home constituencies for end-of-year festivities.

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The vote took place after a Supreme Court ruling that ended weeks of political wrangling over fraud allegations.

The court had halted election preparations while it examined a complaint by the candidate of Liberty Party, Charles Brumskine, who placed third in the first round on October 10.

The two runoff candidates, former football star George Weah and Vice President Joseph Boakai, are waiting to see who will succeed Africa’s first female president and Nobel Peace Prize winner Ellen Johnson Sirleaf who led the country’s recovery from Ebola and civil war.

Boakai’s chances may have been harmed by reported disagreements with Johnson Sirleaf.

He has served as her vice president since her inauguration in 2006 but she declined to endorse him and he has distanced himself from the administration.

Weah’s selection of former president Charles Taylor’s ex-wife, Senator Jewel Howard Taylor, as his running mate, has also not gone down well with a section of the country.

Boakai, who is the ruling Unity Party's candidate, had raised concerns over preparations for the vote. He has, however, called for calm.

“We should make this country peaceful. We should think about our people and what they have gone through,” he said.

Opposition candidate Weah took the most votes, 39 percent, in the first round of the elections but fell short of the 50 percent threshold to win outright. Boakai collected 30 percent.

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“My focus now is to win," Weah told journalists Tuesday in the capital Monrovia. "From there, I am going to get on the drawing board with my team and then we’ll put a plan together to move our country forward.”

Provisional election results are expected between three to four days after the vote, election commission chair Jerome Korkoya said.

Former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan, who is leading a team of observers, has called for the losing candidate to accept the results.

“In any election, there are winners and losers," he said. "Only one presidential candidate will be declared winner. The other should accept the election results to avoid a political crisis, especially if there are no good grounds to challenge the outcome.”

Liberia was founded by freed US slaves in 1847. But its last democratic power transfer, defined as a peaceful handover at the end of a full term, was in 1943.

The presidential poll is more than a test of the country’s democratic credentials. It also suggests that a vibrant political scene is emerging in a country that was once notorious for rebel conflicts and protracted civil wars.