Liberia's runoff election and voter turnout disaster

The polls were to determine a clearer margin between the two major contenders for the presidential seat, George Weah, incumbent President, and former Vice President Joseph Boakai.

A previous election held on October 10, 2023, saw both candidates of the Congress for Democratic Change and Unity Party respectively, polling less than 50 percent of the votes needed to secure an outright victory.

Pockets of violence were recorded in some districts including 8 and 16 following allegations of voting malpractices and manipulation from some party candidates.

The elections were determined by one major thing, numbers.

Poor turnout

Local news outlet Front Page Africa reports that the runoff was characterized by low turnout as many Liberians stayed at home and polling stations were almost empty as the voters were just a handful.

This has been linked to several factors.

Poor living conditions of nationals and failure or rather, less patriotism, and transportation issues.  

According to Front Page Africa, some nationals revealed that the severe hardship currently being endured by the country was a major contributor to their reluctance to sacrifice their financial resources to transport themselves to polling stations.

Chairman of the Nelson Mandela Intellectual Forum, Abubakar Dukuly told the media that the failure of previous candidates for other positions including senatorial, failed to play leadership roles by bussing people to vote for their preferred presidential candidate like it was done in the first round in October.

Other factors including the perception that votes don’t determine the outcome of elections, according to Dukuly also accounted for the low numbers.

“Many of the people do not have interest because they believe that whether they vote or not, the people will still make their decision. There is this perception in Liberia that ‘it is their business; whether we go there or not, the people will still decide for us.’ This is very wrong and this is one of the reasons why people are not coming to vote,” he was quoted.

Unfulfilled promises and devastating economic conditions over time were also mentioned as reasons for the lackadaisical attitude of voters in Tuesday’s polls.

George Weah

President George Weah, a 57-year-old football icon, represents the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC). He assumed office in 2018 after a historic democratic transfer of power. Weah's main promises during his 2017 campaign included poverty alleviation, infrastructure development, and the fight against corruption.

Joseph Boakai

78-year-old Joseph Boakai is a seasoned politician affiliated with the Unity Party (UP). He served as Vice President from 2006 to 2018 under Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa's first elected female head of state.

With decades of experience in Liberia’s public sector, Joseph Boakai has widespread name recognition and is now aiming for the presidency, under the Unity Party (UP). He was previously minister of agriculture from 1983 to 1985.