… Tinubu praises Weah for accepting defeat urges President-elect Boakai to bring Liberia together.
… Former President Jonathan Applauds Weah
Liberian President George Weah announced his defeat after preliminary results from this week’s runoff vote showed opposition party candidate Joseph Boakai leading him by slightly more than one percentage point. According to election officials, Boakai led with 50.89% of the total votes cast, compared to Weah’s 49.11%. These results marked a dramatic turnabout from the election six years prior, when Weah easily defeated Boakai in the second round. Weah made a concession speech even before the official results were announced, coinciding with growing concerns about the state of democracy in West Africa.
Weah gave a concession speech even before official results were announced, coming at a time when there have been growing concerns about the decline of democracy in West Africa.
Weah said he had “the utmost respect for the democracy process that has defined our nation.”
Following the smoothly conducted presidential election in Liberia, President Bola Tinubu has commended the country’s administration and populace.
The President congratulated President-elect Joseph Boakai in a statement made on Saturday morning through his media assistant, Ajuri Ngelale.
In order to provide the people of Liberia with competent administration, he urged Boakai to bring the nation together and build on the support shown by voters.
He also praised George Weah, the outgoing president, for his extraordinary leadership in surrendering the election and preventing a socio-political catastrophe.
He said Weah’s great act of democratic sportsmanship is exemplary, particularly at this time in West Africa, when democracy is under attack by malign actors who are bent on subverting the will of the people.
“I commend President George Weah for his sterling example, undiluted patriotism, and statesmanship. He has defied the stereotype that peaceful transitions of power are untenable in West Africa. He has demonstrated that the outcome of elections in the sub-region need not become the propellant of violence and unrest and that the will of the people must always be respected,” Tinubu said.
He equally thanked the people of Liberia for peacefully exercising their rights and implored them to remain steadfast in the furtherance of peace and democracy.
Same way, former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has praised Liberia’s President George Weah for conceding defeat to Joseph Boakai, the opposition candidate.
In a tweet published on Saturday on twitter (formerly known as Twitter) with the subject line “Liberia wins, Democracy gains,” Jonatha expressed his satisfaction with the result of Liberia’s democratic process.
The former Nigerian leader commended Weah for accepting defeat and congratulating his opponent ahead of the official declaration.
The statement reads, “Having led the West African Elders Forum (@TheWAEF ) Mediation Mission to both the October 10, 2023, general elections and the November 14, 2023, Presidential run-off poll in Liberia, I am deeply pleased with the successful outcome of the democratic process and look forward to a peaceful transition in January 2024.
