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Liberia’s president has signed an executive order establishing a war crimes court, the culmination of a decades-long effort to bring justice to victims of the country’s two civil wars, which killed an estimated 250,000 people from 1989 to 2003. Lawmakers in Parliament — including some who are expected to face prosecution under the court — passed a resolution calling for the move last month. “For peace and harmony to have a chance to prevail, justice and healing must perfect the groundwork,” President Joseph Boakai said as he signed the order on Thursday, to the applause of lawmakers and ministers. Although some of those behind the violence have faced prosecution abroad, no one has been held legally accountable within the country for the massacres, rape, torture and conscription of child soldiers that left deep scars on generations of people in Liberia, a West African nation founded 200 years ago by freed slaves from the United States.
Persons: , Joseph Boakai Organizations: Lawmakers Locations: , Liberia, West African, United States
He lost in a run-off vote to Weah in 2017. "Boakai strikes me as a grandfather figure – someone you would trust with your life. Official results on Friday showed Boakai had 50.9% of the vote over Weah's 49.1%, with more than 99% of votes counted, prompting Weah's concession. In an interview shortly after the results, a softly-spoken Boakai told Reuters that his primary focus would be to bring the country together after a divisive election. Boakai, meanwhile, lives in a relatively modest bungalow that has barely changed since he moved in 50 years ago.
Persons: George Weah, Joseph Boakai, Amara Konneh, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Robtel Neajai, Boakai, Konneh, Unity Party Joseph Boakai, Carielle, Sirleaf's, Weah, Prince Jaygbah, Joe, Edward McAllister, Clelia Organizations: Liberia's, College of West, Reuters, African, Bank, Unity Party, Toyota, Thomson Locations: MONROVIA, DAKAR, College of West Africa, Tuesday's, Monrovia, Africa's, Americas, Liberia, Warsonga, Sierra Leone, Milan, London, Paris
PoliticsLiberian opposition leader Joseph Boakai wins electionPostedLiberia President George Weah on Friday (November 17) conceded election defeat to opposition leader Joseph Boakai after a tight race, ending a presidency marred by graft allegations but helping to ensure a smooth transition of power in the once volatile African nation.
Persons: Joseph Boakai, George Weah Organizations: Liberian, Liberia
Liberia's Weah concedes election defeat to Boakai
  + stars: | 2023-11-18 | by ( Reuters Editorial | ) www.reuters.com   time to read: 1 min
PoliticsLiberia's Weah concedes election defeat to BoakaiPostedLiberia is set for its second democratic transfer of power in seven decades after football-star-turned-president George Weah called to congratulate former vice-president Joseph Boakai on his election victory. David Doyle has more.
Persons: Liberia's Weah, Boakai, George Weah, Joseph Boakai, David Doyle Locations: Liberia
CNN —Liberia’s President, George Weah, has conceded defeat to opposition candidate Joseph Boakai after a tight run-off election. Weah, a former soccer star, called Boakai after the country’s National Elections Commission (NEC) released provisional results on Friday. Therefore, a few minutes ago, I spoke with President-elect Joseph N. Boakai to congratulate him on his victory. President Weah was voted into office in 2018 and will step down in January. A run-off was triggered when Weah, 57, secured a victory in an earlier October poll with a margin of just 7,000 votes over his political rival, Boakai.
Persons: CNN —, George Weah, Joseph Boakai, Weah, Joseph N, Boakai, , Bola Tinubu, Weah’s Organizations: CNN, Elections Commission, NEC Locations: Liberia, West, Central Africa, West Africa
[1/3] Liberia's opposition Unity Party Joseph Boakai waves to his supporters as holds his final campaign rally for the presidential elections in Monrovia, Liberia October 7, 2023. The result marks a stark turnaround from 2017, when global soccer legend Weah, buoyed by a wave of hope, trounced Boakai with 62 percent of the vote. "A few moments ago, I spoke with president elect Joseph Boakai to congratulate him on his victory," Weah said on national radio. Instead, Boakai supporters in the capital Monrovia danced, shouted and honked car horns in the rain after the near-final results were announced. Many felt that Weah did not follow through on promises to alleviate poverty and improve the country's crumbling infrastructure.
Persons: Unity Party Joseph Boakai, Carielle, Boakai, George Weah, Joseph Boakai, Weah, Sarkor, Doe, Alphonso Toweh, Edward McAllister, Anait, Louise Heavens, Jonathan Oatis, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: Unity Party, Reuters, Boakai, Thomson Locations: Monrovia, Liberia, West Africa, MONROVIA, West, Central Africa
Boakai led with 50.89% of the vote over Weah's 49.11%, according to results from 99.6% of polling stations, the country's elections commission said on Friday. Final results are expected in the coming days. Boakai, a softly spoken career politician, was more than 28,000 votes ahead of Weah, according to the latest results. Arkoi Sarkor, 43, told Reuters she supported Boakai because she was not able to get a job during Weah's term. "We can safely declare victory – Boakai is the next president, but we will wait for the final result before celebrating," Boakai's spokesperson Amara Konneh said in an interview.
Persons: Unity Party Joseph Boakai, Carielle, Joseph Boakai, George Weah, Boakai, Arkoi Sarkor, Boakai's, Amara Konneh, Carielle Doe, Alphonso Toweh, Anait Miridzhanian, Edward McAllister, Louise Heavens, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Unity Party, Reuters, Boakai, Thomson Locations: Monrovia, Liberia, MONROVIA, West, Weah
Liberia’s president, George Weah, conceded defeat on Friday night in his bid for a second term, after a tight runoff against Joseph Boakai, a 78-year-old political veteran, in an election that was considered a test of democracy in the West African nation. Mr. Boakai, who had served as vice president for 12 years under the former president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, defeated Mr. Weah, a 57-year-old former soccer star, by a razor-thin margin. The country’s national election commission stopped short of declaring a winner on Friday afternoon, but announced that with more than 99 percent of the ballots counted, Mr. Boakai held 50.89 percent of the votes, and Mr. Weah 49.11 percent. It was the nation’s tightest election in two decades, and a rematch of the election in 2017, when Mr. Weah handily beat Mr. Boakai. Mr. Weah said in a radio address broadcast late on Friday evening that while his party had lost the election, “Liberia has won.”
Persons: George Weah, Joseph Boakai, Boakai, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Weah, Organizations: Locations: West African, “ Liberia
Many voters said they were underwhelmed by Weah’s first term, which has been dogged by graft scandals and persistent poverty in Africa’s oldest independent republic. Both Weah and Boakai have received endorsements from candidates who lost in the first round. One significant unknown is the voting preference of the 6% of people whose ballots were invalidated in the first round. Any alleged irregularities in the second round could potentially fuel unrest, but there had been no reports of problems on Tuesday morning. “I am confident of winning.”‘A better Liberia’The vote is in many ways a test of Weah’s popularity.
Persons: Reuters — Liberians, George Weah, Joseph Boakai, Boakai, Weah’s, , Barbour, ” Weah, , Samuel Carr Organizations: Reuters, World Bank, United Locations: Africa’s, , Monrovia, Liberia, United States
Liberia presidential election heads for November run-off vote
  + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com   time to read: +1 min
Reuters —Liberia’s electoral commission on Tuesday scheduled a presidential election run-off for November after results showed that the two frontrunners, President George Weah and opposition leader Joseph Boakai, had failed to secure enough votes. Weah holds a slim lead at 43.83% of the vote, while Boakai has 43.44%, according to tallied results from 100% of polling places, the West African nation’s election commission said. Commission chairperson Davidetta Browne Lansanah said the run-off vote would be held on Nov. 14. Liberia is struggling to recover from two civil wars that killed more than 250,000 people between 1989 and 2003 and from a 2013-16 Ebola epidemic that killed thousands. Boakai, 78, was Weah’s main challenger and campaigned on what he called the need to rescue Liberia from alleged mismanagement by Weah’s administration.
Persons: George Weah, Joseph Boakai, Weah, Boakai, Davidetta Browne Lansanah Organizations: Reuters Locations: Liberia
PoliticsLiberia presidential election heads for run-off votePostedLiberia's electoral commission on Tuesday (October 24) scheduled a presidential election run-off for November after results showed that the two frontrunners, President George Weah and opposition leader Joseph Boakai, had failed to secure enough votes. Angela Johnston reports.
Persons: George Weah, Joseph Boakai, Angela Johnston Locations: Liberia
MONROVIA, Liberia (AP) — Liberia's presidential election Wednesday appeared headed for a run-off, with the top candidates neck and neck and the votes nearly fully counted. Once the votes from this round are finalized, the run-off will take place within 15 days. The Oct. 10 election is the tightest in the nearly two decades since the end of the country's civil war that killed some 250,000 people. Weah won that election amid high hopes brought about by his promise to fight poverty and generate infrastructure development in Africa’s oldest republic. But Weah has been accused of not living up to key campaign promises that he would fight corruption and ensure justice for victims of the country’s civil wars.
Persons: , George Weah, Joseph Boakai, Weah, Boakai, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa’s, Ibrahim Al, bakri Nyei, , Sam Mednick Organizations: National Elections Commission, , Ducor Institute for Social, Economic Research, Associated Press Locations: MONROVIA, Liberia, Nimba county, West, Africa’s, Dakar, Senegal
‘Correcting a mistake’Boakai told CNN that his young supporters are now desperate for change. Weah’s campaign manager told CNN no Liberian law prevents them from running from office, adding that the government was awaiting evidence from US to enable prosecutions. A unique electionOscar Bloh, head of ECC, Liberia’s largest election observation group, told CNN this election is different from previous polls in the country. A spokesman for the electoral commission, Henry Flomo, told CNN, “Everything is in schedule,” as dictated by law. “It’s unlikely that any of the candidates will win outright during the first round,” he told CNN.
Persons: CNN —, George Weah, Weah, Joseph Boakai, Seif Magango, Ballon, Boakai, ’ Boakai, ’ ”, ” Boakai, Ahmed Jallanzo, Liberians, , Joel Cholo Brooks, Shutterstock, ” Weah, Samuel Tweah, , they’ve, Eugene Nagbe, ” “, Nagbe, , Brooks, Nathaniel McGill, ” McGill, Sayma Syrenius, Bill Twehway, Twehway, I’m, ” Nagbe, Oscar Bloh, Bloh, Henry Flomo, ” Flomo Organizations: CNN, UN, Bank, Coalition for Democratic, Unity Party, Facebook, UN Human Rights, Boakai, Soul Clinic, Global News Network Liberia, Coalition, Democratic, FIFA, Liberian, Liberia Anti, Corruption, Washington, Port Authority, US Treasury Department, McGill, Weah’s CDC, Transparency International, TI Locations: Liberia, Monrovia, Pipeline, , Qatar, American, United States
Craig Ruttle/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Sept 27 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday announced visa restrictions for individuals who he said were "undermining democracy" in Liberia ahead of the country's elections in October. THE TAKEBlinken in a statement released by the U.S. State Department did not specify how many people were affected or identify them. KEY QUOTEThe U.S. visa restrictions target people believed to be responsible for "undermining democracy in Liberia, including through manipulation or rigging of the electoral process; use of violence ....; or engagement in any other activity designed to improperly influence the outcome of an election," Blinken said. * October elections in Liberia will test the popularity of ex-football star Weah after a chaotic first term. * The European Union said last month it will send an observation mission to Liberia ahead of the country's general election in October.
Persons: Antony Blinken, Craig Ruttle, Blinken, George Weah's, Nathaniel McGill, Weah, Joseph Boakai, Kanishka Singh, Tom Hogue, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: Rights, Wednesday, U.S . State Department, U.S, Liberian, European Union, Thomson Locations: Iran, New York, U.S, Liberia, Americas, Washington
[1/4] People gather as opposition leader Joseph Boakai launched his campaign ahead of October elections, in Monrovia, Liberia September 17, 2023. "We thought he (Weah) was going to bring the change he promised, but nothing," said businesswoman Martha Gould. An error in the accounting of fuel supplies in state-run tanks left Liberia short on gasoline in 2020, causing panic at the pumps. Still, it remains to be seen if Boakai and his Unity Party can turn the tide. Weah remains popular across much of the country, and the economy grew nearly 5% last year, driven by gains in agriculture and mining, the World Bank says.
Persons: Joseph Boakai, Carielle, George Weah, Joe, Martha Gould, Weah, Nathaniel McGill, Boakai, Edward McAllister, Christina Fincher Organizations: Reuters, Rights, Liberian, Unity Party, Bank, Thomson Locations: Monrovia, Liberia, Rights MONROVIA, Liberia's, United States
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