#englishnews #Liberiaelectionresult #georgeweah #Josephboakai <br /><br />News Article :-<br />With almost all votes counted in Liberia's election, President George Weah and his main rival Joseph Boakai are still running neck and neck, meaning they are set for a run-off.<br /><br />Mr Weah currently has 43.8% of the vote with Mr Boakai on 43.5%, provisional results show.<br /><br />A candidate needs more than 50% of the vote to be declared the winner.<br /><br />The 10 October election was Liberia's closest presidential race since a civil war ended two decades ago.<br /><br />The election commission released the latest results after votes had been counted in more than 98% of polling stations, giving Mr Weah a slim lead of 5,456 votes.<br />Voting is set to be repeated in some parts of Sinoe, Nimba and Montserrado counties on Friday after ballots were tampered with by unknown people, the commission said.<br /><br />None of the 18 other presidential candidates received more than 3% in the first round, and the two main candidates are likely to seek their endorsement, as each vote will count in a run-off.<br /><br />Mr Weah, a former international football star, is seeking a second term as president.<br /><br />The president won a run-off in the 2017 poll with 61.5% to Mr Boakai's 38.5%.<br /><br />He got the most votes in the first round of that election - 38.4% to Mr Boakai's 28.8%, suggesting that Mr Boakai fared better in last week's poll.<br /><br />Analyst Abdullah Kiatamba told AFP news agency that whoever comes out on top in the first round will have the advantage of greater momentum.<br /><br />A run-off will be held on 7 November after the announcement of official results.<br /><br />Analysts say this might be the last attempt at the presidency for Mr Boakai, 78.<br /><br />He served as vice-president in the government of then-President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to achieve peace and stability in Liberia following a brutal civil war that killed an estimated 250,000 people.<br /><br />He waged his campaign under the slogan "Rescue", arguing that the West African state went downhill during Mr Weah's first six years in office.<br /><br />Mr Weah, 57, has dismissed Mr Boakai's allegations, saying that he has made significant strides, including introducing free tuition for university students.
