Liberia VP Pledges to Respect Court Verdict on Election Dispute

MONROVIA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Liberian Vice President Joseph Boakai, the ruling party’s candidate to succeed President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, said he will abide by the outcome of a legal challenge to the results of last month’s first round vote.

The West African nation’s Supreme Court on Wednesday halted preparations for a runoff on Nov. 7 after a losing candidate in the first round lodged an objection and called for a rerun of the election. Liberia’s soccer-star-turned-politician, George Weah, from the Congress for Democratic Change, won 38.4 percent of the first-round votes while Boakai from the United Party came second with 28.8 percent.

They were due to face each other in the runoff after neither candidate secured the majority needed for an outright win. Laying bare a rift between Johnson Sirleaf and her party, Boakai on Thursday repeated accusations that she had “improper” meetings with officials of the National Elections Commission and supported the complaint that the vote was marked by unacceptable irregularities.

“The president has not been supporting the Unity Party, she has not worked closely with the Unity Party,” Boakai told reporters during a conference call.

Boakai will accept the court’s decision and will participate in a rerun, even as his campaign continues to prepare for a runoff, he said.

Read more: Boakai campaigns on pledges to boost economy through farming

The complaint will be heard on Friday afternoon in Monrovia, the capital.

“I believe in our courts, and we have to believe in them because we believe in the rule of law,” he said. “If it means that there will be a rerun, we will certainly be in the race.”

Jerome Korkoya, chairman of the National Elections Commission, said Wednesday that the elections were free and credible and that the body stood by the published results.

Mediation Talks
In mediation meetings in Monrovia on Wednesday, the political parties committed themselves to peace and to respect the dispute-resolution process, African Union Chairman Alpha Conde, who is also the president of Guinea, told reporters.

They also had talks with Johnson Sirleaf “to say that she should remain above the fray,” Conde said.

“They all agreed to support the constitution of Liberia,” he said. They have “committed themselves that there will be no blood-shedding.”

Source: Bloomberg Business news