TheCable

Liberians are eagerly awaiting the announcement of the official results of the presidential runoff election.

The National Elections Commission (NEC) of Liberia set Thursday for the declaration of the winner.

Tallying of votes was ongoing at different centres across the country when Henry Flomo, spokesman of the commission, announced the date on Wednesday.

The run-off was between George Weah, former FIFA World Football of the Year and Vice-President Joseph Boakai. The winner will succeed outgoing President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf.

Preliminary results trickling in from collation centres across the country indicated that Weah was in early lead.

Weah was ahead in three counties (Bomi, Margibi and Grand Bassa) with over 50 percent of the votes processed so far.

Reports from different parts of the country indicated that supporters of Weah were already celebrating his purported victory.

The ECOWAS Election Observation Mission to Liberia called on NEC to “work diligently and expedite action on the proclamation of results to avoid creating anxiety’’.

Head of the mission and former President John Mahama of Ghana made the call at a news conference in Monrovia last night.

He also urged the electoral umpire to conduct the concluding part of the process with “fairness, openness and transparency until the proclamation of results”.

António Guterres, UN secretary-general, has sent former President Olusegun Obasanjo to Liberia to support a peaceful transfer power to a democratically-elected president.