Election Fraud Charges Undermine Liberia’s Plan for a Smooth Transfer of Power

Election Fraud Charges Undermine Liberia’s Plan for a Smooth Transfer of Power
Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf waves following a meeting with ECOWAS delegates, Banjul, Gambia, Dec. 13, 2016 (AP photo by Sylvain Cherkaoui).

Editor’s Note: Every Friday, WPR Associate Editor Robbie Corey-Boulet curates the top news and analysis from and about the African continent.

An election that was meant to showcase the strength of Liberia’s postwar democratic transition has instead been mired in uncertainty, with fraud allegations exposing deep rifts among the country’s political class.

George Weah, a former soccer star who came close to winning the presidency in 2005, led the first round of voting held Oct. 10 with 38 percent of the total. He was scheduled to compete in a runoff next Tuesday against Vice President Joseph Boakai, who received 28 percent.

Keep reading for free!

Get instant access to the rest of this article by submitting your email address below. You'll also get access to three articles of your choice each month and our free newsletter:

Or, Subscribe now to get full access.

Already a subscriber? Log in here .

What you’ll get with an All-Access subscription to World Politics Review:

A WPR subscription is like no other resource — it’s like having a personal curator and expert analyst of global affairs news. Subscribe now, and you’ll get:

  • Immediate and instant access to the full searchable library of tens of thousands of articles.
  • Daily articles with original analysis, written by leading topic experts, delivered to you every weekday.
  • Regular in-depth articles with deep dives into important issues and countries.
  • The Daily Review email, with our take on the day’s most important news, the latest WPR analysis, what’s on our radar, and more.
  • The Weekly Review email, with quick summaries of the week’s most important coverage, and what’s to come.
  • Completely ad-free reading.

And all of this is available to you when you subscribe today.

More World Politics Review