Liberia Elects Ex-Soccer Star 'King George' Weah as President

Former soccer star George Weah won Thursday Liberia's presidential run-off election and will succeed incumbent Ellen Johnson Sirleaf next month, the country's first democratic transition in over 70 years.

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With 98.1 percent of the vote counted, Weah led with 61.5 percent to Vice President Joseph Boakai's 38.5 percent, National Elections Commission Chairman Jerome Korkoyah told reporters in the capital Monrovia.

"My fellow Liberians, I deeply feel the emotion of all the nation," Weah wrote on Twitter after the results were announced. "I measure the importance and the responsibility of the immense task which I embrace today. Change is on."

At his party headquarters outside Monrovia, tears streamed down Weah's face as he greeted supporters from a balcony. Below, hundreds of young people sang and danced to a live performance of Hipco, Liberian hip hop music popular with the country's impoverished youth.

Liberia's President-elect George Weah. | Photo: Reuters

"When you feel sick for some time and you receive proper medication - that is how I feel now. He will be good for our country. He is King George!"

Weah grew up in Clara Town slum in Monrovia and went on to become the only African to win FIFA World Player of the Year, starring for AC Milan, Paris St Germain and Chelsea.

His popularity at home fueled a previous run for president, in 2005. He won the first round then but lost the second round to Johnson Sirleaf, whom he will now succeed.

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His rags-to-riches story helped him tap into dissatisfaction with Johnson Sirleaf's 12-year tenure. She drew criticism for failing to root out corruption or persistent poverty.

Weah's critics, however, say he has offered few concrete policy proposals. His choice of running mate has also raised eyebrows: Jewel Howard-Taylor, the ex-wife of Charles Taylor, a former president of Liberia who is serving 50 years in a British prison for war crimes in neighboring Sierra Leone.

The U.S.-based Carter Center and National Democratic Institute said Thursday there were notable improvements in the handling of the run-off, echoing positive assessments from other international observers.

Founded by freed U.S. slaves in 1847, Liberia is Africa's oldest modern republic. But the last democratic transfer of power occurred in 1944, a military coup took place in 1980 and a 14-year civil war ended only in 2003.