MONROVIA, Montserrado – The National Elections Commission has officially announced final results of the October 10 presidential and representative elections, declaring no winner for the presidential race.

Making the pronouncement on Thursday, the commission’s chairman, Jerome Korkoya, said none of the 20 presidential candidates obtained more than 50 percent of the total votes to be announced as the winner, as required by the constitution.

Korkoya disclosed that the total turnout for Tuesday’s polls was 1,641,922 or 75.19 percent of the total registered voters. Out of that number, there were 1,553,340 valid votes for the presidential election, while invalid votes accounted for 88,574 or 5.39 percent of the turnout.

The Coalition for Democratic Change presidential candidate, George Weah, obtained 596,037 votes, constituting 38.4 percent while Vice President Joseph Boakai of the ruling Unity Party obtained 446,717 votes, constituting 28.8 percent of the total valid votes.

Next in line to Weah and Boakai were Liberty Party’s Charles Brumskine, Prince Johnson of the Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction, and Alexander Cummings of the Alternative National Congress, with 9.6, 8.2 and 7.2 percents, respectively.

Korkoya has meanwhile announced a runoff to be held on November 7 between Weah and Boakai, the two top contenders.

“As you have heard, there is no single candidate that obtained 50 percent plus one. Under the laws of Liberia, in such a case, a runoff election is declared by this commission; and we are calling this so declared,” Korkoya disclosed.

Campaigning for the runoff was also immediately declared opened and would run until 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, November 5.

Korkoya called on the parties in the runoff election to observe the regulations governing political campaigns.

Featured photo by Zeze Ballah