MONROVIA, Montserrado – Coalition for Democratic Change candidate George Weah has finally been announced president-elect, after winning more than three-fifths of the total votes cast in the December 26 runoff presidential election.

The National Elections Commission announced the final official results, declaring Weah as the winner of the election.

According to the results, he won 61.5 percent of the total votes over his opponent, Joseph Boakai, current vice president and standard bearer of the ruling Unity Party who obtained 38.5 percent of the total valid votes.

From a total turnout of 1,218,120 eligible registered voters at Tuesday’s polls, invalid votes accounted for 2.3 percent of all votes. Except for Lofa, where Boakai hails from, Weah maintained his lead in all counties.

The pronouncement of the results was witnessed by several local and international observers, the media and executives of political parties.

A member of the CDC Executive Committee, Representative Moses Kollie of Lofa, described the results as a victory for Liberia.

“I am proud that today, Liberians have won – that there is peace in Liberia, so I feel proud for Liberia,” Kollie told a group of journalists at NEC’s headquarters.

He acknowledged that citizens had high expectations for the incoming government’s performance, but he said the president-elect was prepared to deliver on his promises. He said reconciliation and peacebuilding would be among major pillars of the CDC’s administration.

Hours before the pronouncement of the final results, Vice President Boakai had conceded defeat and congratulated Weah as the winner of the election.

“I congratulate the winner, Ambassador George Manneh Weah, and pray that God will guide and guard him as he embarks upon the onerous responsibility of steering the affairs of our nation,” he said.

He agreed with the NEC and local and international observers that voting was done peacefully, with voters freely expressing their desire.

Meanwhile, Weah has bid farewell to the Liberian Senate.

Speaking Friday at the official closing of the 53^rd Legislature’s session, the outgoing senator stressed the need to work together as a country, as the elections season was now over.

“We gave our campaign speeches. Some were good, and some were not good; but it’s all about Liberia now, so I hope that we will work together in the interest of the Liberian people,” he said.

“Everybody won; even the vice president won because we will give the vice president leverage that he will interact with the government to bring his expertise on board.”

Weah is expected to succeed Nobel laureate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf on January 15 next year and would be the first football star to become president in Africa. His election has been greeted with huge celebrations in the streets of Monrovia and other cities across the country, stalling free movements of people and vehicles.

In Monrovia, for example, the stretch of Tubman Boulevard between Sinkor and CDC’s party headquarters in Congo Town was jammed. The slow traffic lasted for nearly five hours.

Before coming to politics, Weah gained fame playing football in Europe’s top clubs. He played for Liberia’s national team and international clubs including Chelsea, Manchester City, Monaco, AC Milan, and Paris Saint-Germain, where he became the only player to be recognized as the best player in Africa, Europe, and the world, all in the same year – 1995.

He entered the political scene in 2005 when he first contested for the presidency. He subsequently ran as a vice presidential candidate in 2011 and lost. He was, however, overwhelmingly elected in 2014 as a senator of Montserrado, succeeding another member of his party, Joyce Musu Freeman.

While the 2017 election will give way to a historic democratic transition not seen in several decades, it is also the first time in many years in the country for a loser in a presidential election to consciously accept results and concede defeat to the winner.

Featured photo by Aaron Nah