Liberia’s new president Joseph Boakai on Wednesday called for unity and unity behind him in his first speech since being officially elected on Monday by a very narrow margin.
Boakai, a 78-year-old political veteran, defeated incumbent George Weah by a margin of just 20,567 ballots.
Boakai captured 50.64 percent of the vote, compared with the 49.36 percent won by the former international football star Weah.
“The elections are now over and we must unite as one people to rebuild our country”, he declared in a speech to the press.
“I implore all Liberians, regardless of ethnic origin, country, religion or political party affiliation, to join us on this journey to save our country,” he said.
On Friday evening, Mr Weah, who was elected in 2017, acknowledged his opponent’s victory in the light of the almost final results, winning praise for favouring a non-violent transfer of power.
“We all won. What has happened in our democracy over the last four days is a victory for Liberia and will be a legacy for us as a people and will mark posterity forever”, said Mr Boakai.
