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Liberia’s 2023 elections. What a runoff entails
By Polls Africa
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As anticipated, Liberia's general elections on 10 October 2023 to elect the President, House of Representatives and half the Senate did not yield and outright winner. Both major candidates did not receive a majority in the first round, which paves way for a runoff on 7 November 2023.
In Summary
The frontrunners were incumbent President George Weah of the Congress for Democratic Change, and former Vice President Joseph Boakai of the opposition Unity Party. The President is elected using the two-round system, whilst the 73 members of the House of Representatives are elected by first-past-the-post voting in single-member constituencies.
Incumbent George Weah was eligible for a second term having served his first term after winning the 2018 elections. This was Liberia’s closest election in 20 years and the first to be fully organized by Liberia’s government without any financial assistance from international partners.
A hotly contested election
Joseph Nyumah Boakai, 78, served as the 29th vice president of Liberia from 2006 to 2018, under President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. He previously served as the Minister of Agriculture from 1983 to 1985. Boakai contested for presidency in 2017 but was defeated by the incumbent George Weah, 57, in an election that was also decided in a runoff.Â
Weah career in politics is as colourful as his career in football. He first ran for presidency in 2005 under his new party, the Congress for Democratic Change, losing to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in yet another runoff. In the 2011 election, he ran unsuccessfully for vice president alongside Winston Tubman. Weah finally won the 2017 election and defeating the then vice president Joseph Boakai.Â
Both candidates have not only contested for presidency before but they have also participated in runoff, in a country where presidency is almost always decided in a second round of voting.
In the October 10 elections, Weah got 43.8% while Boakai received 43.4% of votes cast, with an impressive turnout of 78.1%. The CDC of Weah won the Parliamentary vote while CPP of Boakai now controls the Senate. The November runoff will be a rematch of the last election, in 2017.
Issues at play
As remarked by the African Center for Strategic Studies, a think-tank, beyond the personalities involved, the central issue to watch in Liberia’s 2023 elections will be how well the country’s nascent democratic institutions hold up against pressure to accommodate and reinstitute a strongman model of executive power.
In the December 2020 referendum, President Weah had proposed eight amendments to the Constitution, including one shortening presidential terms from 6 years to 5 years. Fearing that this was a pretext for resetting the constitutional clock and extend his time in power, the public soundly defeated all eight resolutions.Â
President Weah was first elected in 2017 on promises to develop infrastructure projects and tackle widespread corruption. Although he has partly delivered on infrastructure, Weah has been accused of doing too little to fight corruption since officially taking office in January 2018.
He has promised to restore the country’s image, develop infrastructure and improve the lives of the most disadvantaged.
Boakai has forged alliances with local figures, including former warlord and senator Prince Johnson, who supported Weah in the last election and remains influential in local politics.