The newly elected Liberian president, George Weah will be inaugurated at the capital, Monrovia, today.
Weah was the frontrunner among 20 candidates who ran in the first round of elections last October 10. After an electoral litigation battle that dragged on for weeks, he won the December 26 runoff with 61.5 percent of the vote. Though turnout was low – 55.8 percent compared with 75.2 percent in October – Weah’s die-hard followers delivered his most decisive victory.
The footballer turned politician will replace the out going Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
Despite Liberia’s reputed gains in political and socioeconomic renewal in the past 12 years, when Weah takes over from Sirleaf he will be inheriting high levels of unemployment and domestic debt, a depreciated currency, donor aid fatigue, growth projections of 4 percent (before the Ebola epidemic the country recorded an average growth rate of 7.5 percent), corruption with impunity – including a secret tax waiver for logging companies – and declining human development indices.
Weah has promised speedy development for the west African country.
Details later.
