16 Oct 2017 | 11:08 PM UTC
Liberia: Run-off presidential election set for November 7 /update 4
Second round of presidential elections set to take place on November 7; political rallies likely in coming weeks
Event
A second round of Liberia's presidential elections has been scheduled for November 7. The run-off election comes after none of the candidates secured more than 50 percent of the votes in the first round, held on October 10. The leading candidates, former football star George Weah and Vice-President Joseph Boaki, both predicted that they would win outright in the first round, but have accepted the results of the first vote. Weah and Boaki will now face off in the second round of voting in November. Political rallies and related traffic disruptions are likely in the coming weeks.
Context
On October 10, voters took to the polls to choose a successor to current President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who took office in 2006 and is completing her second and final term. The vote was held without incident. The elections should mark the first peaceful transition of power between democratically elected Liberian presidents since 1944, a watershed moment in the country's democratic consolidation process that began following the end of the Second Liberian Civil War in 2003.
Advice
Individuals present in Liberia are advised to monitor local news and to avoid any political rallies or protests, as violence may flare up without warning.
