Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s candidate for president on February 25th, stated that Liberia has now established a high standard for African nations to follow in election management after the country’s presidential elections were completed without controversy or legal action.
After Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) was declared the winner of the Nigerian presidential election under dubious circumstances by the electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Obi contested the election and challenged the results all the way to the Supreme Court.
Even though Tinubu was declared the winner and the legitimately elected president of Nigeria by the country’s highest court, a majority of Nigerians continue to hold the opinion that he was not elected. However, the ruling by the Supreme Court upholding him was based on a technicality.
USAfricaonline.com had reported on Saturday that President George Weah had conceded defeat late on Friday, November 17, 2023, following the provisional results of the runoff vote, which showed Joseph Boakai, the candidate of the opposition party, defeating him by a margin of slightly more than one percentage point.
Election officials reported that, with 99.58% of the votes from Tuesday’s election counted, Boakai had 50.89% of the total, compared to Weah’s 49.11%. The outcome was a stark contrast to the election six years prior, in which Weah defeated Boakai handily in the second round.
“The Liberian people have spoken, and we have heard their voice,” Weah had said in an address to the nation, adding that Boakai “is in a lead that we cannot surpass”.
“I urge you to follow my example and accept the result of the elections,” he said, adding that “our time will come again” in 2029.
Obi said that Liberia has established a model for other African nations to imitate in response to the election results released by the Librarian Electoral Commission. He also mentioned that he had closely monitored “the just concluded and seamless presidential elections in our West African neighbor, Liberia.”
Nonetheless, Joseph Bokai of the Unity Party, who was proclaimed the victor and is currently the president-elect of Liberia, received congratulations from Obi, a Nigerian politician and the former governor of the state of Anambra in southeast Nigeria.
He continued by saying, “I also extend my congratulations to the president, H.E. George Weah, who has graciously conceded defeat and thank him, especially for his exemplary respect for democracy and the rule of law.
“Finally, I’d like to especially congratulate the entire people of Liberia and salute their national institutions, particularly the Electoral Commission of Liberia, who, by their respective exemplary conduct, have added fillip to the credibility of the elections and, in so doing, strengthened democracy in Liberia and Africa.
