Political veteran Joseph Boakai was on Monday declared the winner of Liberia’s presidential election,
beating incumbent George Weah, electoral authorities said after completing the ballot count.

Boakai won with 50.64 percent of the vote, against 49.36 percent of the vote for former international
football star Weah, National Electoral Commission president Davidetta Browne Lansanah told reporters. Boakai won by a margin of just 20,567 votes. Weah had already conceded the election on Friday evening, based on the results of more than 99.98 percent of polling stations. The outgoing president won praise from abroad on Monday for conceding and promoting a non-violent transition in a region marred by coups.

“Liberians have once again demonstrated that democracy is alive in the ECOWAS region and that change
is possible through peaceful means,” the Economic Community of West African States said in a
statement. Since 2020, ECOWAS states have seen abrupt regime changes with military forces seizing power in four of the 15 member countries: Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso and Niger.