Liberia’s incumbent president and football legend George Weah conceded defeat on Friday evening after nearly complete returns showed opposition leader Joseph Boakai leading with 50.89 per cent of the vote.
“Ladies and gentlemen, tonight the CDC (party) has lost the election, but Liberia has won. This is the time for graciousness in defeat, to put national interest above personal interest,” he said in a speech on national radio.
Results published by the electoral commission after tallying the ballots from more than 99 per cent of polling stations gave Weah 49.11 per cent of the votes cast.
The 78-year-old Boakai beat Weah by just over 28,000 votes.
