Liberia Election: Ex-Footballer Up Against Vice-President
Liberians are choosing a new president in a run-off vote between Vice-President Joseph Boakai and former international footballer George Weah.
Mr Weah, 51, won the first round, but did not secure the required 50% of the vote for an outright victory.
Legal challenges delayed the vote to replace Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa’s first elected female president.
Liberia, which was founded by freed US slaves in the 19th Century, has not had a smooth transfer of power in 73 years.
Polls across Liberia opened at 08:00 GMT and will close at 18:00. More than two million people are eligible to cast their ballots.
Mr Boakai, 73, has been Liberia’s vice-president for 12 years but does not seem to enjoy the support of his boss, the BBC’s Umaru Fofana reports from the capital, Monrovia.
Mr Weah, the former world footballer of the year, is hoping for a third time lucky.
Tuesday is not a public holiday in Liberia but the Christian-majority country, like most of the rest of the Christian world, celebrated Christmas on Monday. “We realise that this day is immediately after Christmas Day,” said Jerome Korkoya, president of the National Elections Commission, earlier this month. “We call on all registered voters to make that one sacrifice, for the love of our democracy.”
However, Ibrahim Al-Bakri Nyei, a Liberian political analyst at London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), told AFP news agency that turnout was likely to be lower than at the first round because of the date.
