President George Weah has managed to maintain a narrow lead over his archrival, former Vice President Joseph Boakai, with just 3,581 votes separating the two candidates. Weah, who has maintained his lead over the past three days, holds 593,558 votes as of October 15, according to the latest data released by the National Elections Commission (NEC). On the other hand, Boakai is closely trailing with 589,977 votes, having fought tenaciously to keep pace with Weah, whom he temporarily led from October 11 to October 12. Details to follow...

Fire has erupted at a section of the port of Buchanan in Grand Bass County. Firefighters and authories at the port are currently fighting to quench the fire, but are finding it difficult. The cause of the fire is still unknown. Details to follow.

She is concerned that during the last three months of political canvassing by political parties and independent candidates, the LGBTQ+ community has been excluded. And that is why gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights," Secretary Clinton said. ANC, UP Frowns on LGBTQ LGBTQ+ rights continue to be a thorny and sticky issue during the political season in Liberia. A candidate accused of being gay or siding with the LGBTQ+ community could likely suffer a massive loss. The government of President Weah continues to be reticent on the protection of the basic human rights of the LGBTQ+ community.

MONROVIA –The National Elections Commission today continued the announcement of provisional results for the just ended general elections. According to the NEC, with votes from 2,933 polling places (49.8%) of the total 5890, President Weah obtained 415,895, constituting 44.58% of the total votes tallied so far, while former VP Joseph Boakai is trailing with 402,137, amounting to 43.1%. Below are the results between Amb. Joseph Nyumah Boakai (JNB) and President George Manneh Weah (GMW) as per counties.

Supervisor Menwogbay Sieder has been linked to the disturbances that transpired in Beo-Longtuo Town on that day. Following this incident, two of the representative ballot boxes located in the four polling centers in Beo-Longtuo Town, with Center Code 33258, were damaged. Additionally, one ballot box went missing from the residence of Beo-Longtuo Town Chief Augustine Borduneh, where it was being kept for safekeeping. Aggrieved citizens of the town, including supporters of the 17 representative candidates, came forward with heightened tension, demanding that the NEC rerun the election for Beo-Longtuo Town. According to our correspondent in Nimba County, District Number 4 featured 17 representative candidates participating in the 2023 elections.

Parties' agents were asked to sign each Record of the Count for the presidential, senatorial, and representative ballots cast. This comes after representative ballot boxes at the two polling places were stolen by unknown men. The ballot boxes were sealed and contained representative votes cast on October 10. "The election Magistrate of upper Nimba County has reported that the representative ballot boxes at the polling places were stolen by unknown men. The ballot boxes were sealed and contained representative votes cast on October 10, 2023.

--- As the National Elections Commission continues to announce resultsPresident George Weah has managed to hold onto a slender lead over former Vice President Joseph Boakai as the National Elections Commission (NEC) continues to release preliminary results from the October 10 polls. With 48% (2,933) of the polling places reporting, Weah has a vote margin of 13,758 votes, leaving the nation on edge as they await the final outcome. The President has secured a total of 415,895 votes, while opposition leader Joseph Boakai is trailing with a total of 402,137 votes. On the other hand, Boakai, who served as Vice President under former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, is presenting himself as an experienced statesman capable of addressing the nation's needs in a different way. Meanwhile, the tight race between Weah and Boakai has kept the nation on edge, with both candidates rallying their supporters and emphasizing the importance of peaceful elections.

Dakar – The Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), Leonardo Santos Simão, visited Liberia from 9 to 12 October in the context of the 10 October general elections. The Special Representative congratulates the Liberian people for the peaceful and transparent conduct of the general election of 10 October 2023. The Special Representative wishes to commend the National Elections Commission and the security forces for their professionalism in the conduct of the elections. He equally urges the National Elections Commission to pursue the tallying process in the same spirit of professionalism and transparency. The Special Representative invites Liberians to continue in their efforts to consolidate democracy through credible, inclusive, and peaceful electoral processes in the country.

The US intelligence agency had prepared two reports days ahead of the Hamas offensive last weekend. Both the reports warned of a possible attack on Israel by Hamas, US officials said. In the weeks leading up to the massive attack by Hamas terrorists on southern Israel, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)’s classified reports warned of a likely escalation in violence, US officials said. The US intelligence agency had prepared two reports days ahead of the Hamas offensive over the weekend. The second classified report was included in a daily CIA intelligence report was distributed to policymakers and lawmakers in the US, the New York Times reported.

... Weah, a former international soccer star turned politician, had initially trailed behind Boakai, the former Vice President of Liberia, in the early hours following the October 10 polls. President George Weah has surged ahead in the latest poll results for the Liberian presidency, just two days after former Vice President Joseph Boakai took an early lead. Boakai is contesting on the opposition Unity Party (UP) ticket, while Weah is on the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC). Weah, a former international soccer star turned politician, had initially trailed behind Boakai, the former Vice President of Liberia, in the early hours following the October 10 polls. The updated vote tallies are derived from 1,527 of the 5,890 polling places, which represent 25.93% of the total polling places across the country.

The African Risk Capacity Group (ARC), Institut Pasteur de Dakar (IPD), and the West African Health Organization (WAHO have formed an alliance to facilitate an integrated approach to strengthen epidemic preparedness and response in ECOWAS countries. With support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), the alliance disclosed that the approach combines sound public policies, innovative financing solutions, and cutting-edge technologies and data expertise to tackle epidemic in Africa. “An integrated approach to strengthening epidemic preparedness and response in the ECOWAS region will be crucial to implementing effective public policies. Laurence Lannes, Senior Economist (Health) from the World Bank, highlighted that the multilateral lender is currently hosting pandemic funds, $2 billion in total. https://www.arc.intInstitut Pasteur de Dakar (IPD) is a Senegalese not-for-profit foundation working to advance equitable access to health in Africa, especially in Senegal.

For the ECOWAS Observation Mission to Liberia, the head of the Mission, Professor Attahiru Jega in the Preliminary Declaration read said, “On election day, the Mission deployed 120 observers, grouped into 54 teams across the country. The atmosphere at polling stations was generally peaceful with security agents present in 91.67% of the polling station visited, the ECOWAS Mission also observed security patrols across voting precincts. Election day was generally calm and peaceful, although isolated cases of incidents in and around voting precincts were reported by observers. “Observation of Election Day showed Liberians’ democratic commitment and was positively assessed by the EOM observers,” he added, indicating that voters had to face long waiting time for voting. 12 Long-Term and Medium-Term Observers (LTOs) from April 2023 observed the preliminary stages of the elections.

By Paul EjimeIt might take longer for Liberians to know the official result of their 10 October 2023 elections, no thanks to inclement weather conditions in a rainy season and poor infrastructure, especially inaccessible road networks. Consequently, bad weather and poor infrastructure again compounded the electoral logistic and operational problems. Turn-out was high with long queues at many polling centres hours before the official opening time of 0800 am. The majority of the 5,890 polling places opened late due to delay in the arrival of polling officials and/or materials. *Paul Ejime is a Global Affairs Analyst and Consultant on Peace & Security and Governance CommunicationsVisited 51 times, 19 visit(s) today

EU Election Observation Mission says President used state resources to gain unfair political advantageIn the aftermath of the October 10 polls, President George Weah is facing allegations of “disproportionate” use of “state resources”, which distorted the political playing field. According to a report by the EU Election Observation Mission to Liberia, the president’s campaign team utilized a lot of state resources to establish a more dominant presence across the 15 political subdivisions of the country. The report noted that “state resources” not only provided the president’s campaign with a substantial advantage but also contributed to a campaign environment characterized by significant disparities. “EU observation showed an obvious disparity in terms of resources available to CDC for the presidential campaign in all 15 counties in terms of billboards, posters, vehicles, and t-shirts, etc. “The widespread use of state resources in the form of official vehicles and buildings was widely observed by the EU EOM observers,” he added.

Mumba said EISA aims to support the integrity of the 2023 Liberia presidential and legislative elections by assessing and reporting on all aspects of the electoral process. Additionally, Dr. Mumba calls for enforcing the rules in the election law by prosecuting offenses such as voter trucking. Increase the number of voting booths in the polling places to expedite the voting process and improve the habitability of polling places considering size and ventilation,” he added. Mumba calls on the government to promulgate into law provisions on compulsory gender quotas for female candidates in line with Liberia’s international commitment to affirmative action. EISA’s observation methodology is guided by the Declaration of Principles for International Observation (DoP) and its attendant code of conduct for observers.