The National Electoral Commission (NEC) in Liberia on Monday evening declared the Unity Party candidate, Joseph Boakai, as the winner of the country’s presidential election.
The commission’s chairperson, Davidetta Lansannah, who announced the results in Monrovia, said the former vice president garnered 814,481 votes (50.64%) to edge out the incumbent president, George Weah, who polled 793,914 votes (49.36%) in the tightly-contested election.
Weah, a football great, represented the Coalition for Democratic Change in the election.
A total of 1,625,684 votes were available in 5,890 polling units across the West African country for the run-off election.
The first round of voting between the two allies on October 10 ended in a tie.
The president at the weekend accepted defeat and congratulated Boakai on his victory in the election.
He also declared his support for the new president in the ongoing efforts to rebuild Liberia after the devastating civil war of the 1990s.