Weah maintains lead

Monrovia, Oct. 13, GNA - Preliminary results in last Tuesday's post-war elections in Liberia show that ace footballer George Weah of the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) is maintaining a handsome lead with 23.7 per cent of the votes.

The results show that out of the total 88,080 ballots counted so far, Mr Weah had 19,940 votes.

Mrs Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of the Unity Party (UP) follows him with 14.9 per cent with 12,528 votes and Charles Walker Brumskine of the Liberty Party (LP) has 9,930 votes at 11.8 per cent, according to updates from the National Elections Commission (NEC) on Thursday. Mr Winston Tubman of the National Democratic Party of Liberia (NDPL) has 8,490 ballots or 10.1 per cent to stand fourth, followed by Alhaji G.V. Kromah of the All Liberian Coalition Party (ALCOP) with 7,960 ballots representing 9.4 per cent while Mr Joseph Korto of the Liberia Equal Rights Party (LERP) had 6,352 votes or 7.5 per cent to place fifth.

The rest are Mr Roland Massaquoi, candidate of ousted President Charles Taylor's National Patriotic Party, 3,296 votes at 3.9 per cent; Mr Togba-Nah Tipoteh of the Alliance for Peace and Democracy (APD), 3,014 representing 3.6 per cent; and Mr Tubman William of the Reformed United Liberia Party (RULP), 1,962 or 2.3 per cent.

The results still remain marginal and are not yet indicative, the NEC has said.

There were 22 presidential candidates in the elections, which formed the concluding part of a comprehensive peace deal signed by the various factions two years ago in Accra to end more than 14 years of political conflict in Liberia during which at least 200,000 people were killed and volumes of property destroyed.

Voters also chose two senators each for the 15 counties and members of the House of Representatives.