Monrovia – Liberia’s National Elections Commission (NEC) has unveiled the first provisional results of this week’s presidential elections putting football legend Senator George Weah and Vice President Joseph Boakai in the lead.
NATIONAL ELECTION COMMISSION PROGRESSIVE TALLY REPORT (CONSOLIDATED)
According to the tally, Senator Weah has a total of 13,7606 votes so far representing 37.0528 percent, while VP Boakai has attained 10,6456 votes so far accounting for 28.6651 per cent.
Senator Weah has the lead in Bomi County with 44.4 percent, followed by VP Boakai with 32 percent after 32 polling places reporting.
In Bong County, from 502 polling places reporting, VP Boakai is in the second place with 34.0 percent behind Senator Weah with 39.4 percent.
In Gbarpolu County, from 26 of 133 polling places reporting, Senator Weah leads with 41.6 percent from 3,075 votes followed by VP Boakai with 2,768 votes for 37.4 percent.
In Grand Bassa County, which has 388 polling places, Liberty Party’s Charles Brumskine has 48.4 percent followed by the CDC with 32.5 percent and the UP with 8.3 percent.
In Grand Cape Mount County, the home of the UP’s former chairman Senator Varney Sherman, Senator Weah has 46.4 percent to VP Boakai’s 37.5 percent.
In Grand Gedeh County, CDC has 76.1 percent to UP’s 12.0 percent.
In Grand Kru County, Senator Weah has 58.2 percent to UP’s 10.8 percent.
In Lofa County, VP Boakai has a commanding lead with 27.614 votes for 78.1 percent, followed by Charles Brumskine of the Liberty Party with 8.8 percent of the votes and CDC with 5.8 percent.
In Margibi County, the home of VP Boakai’s vice standard bearer Emmanuel Nuquay, Senator Weah leads with 42.8 percent followed by VP Boakai with 34.6 percent, Alexander Cummings with 7.2 percent and Charles Brumskine with 6.8 percent.
The dismal results in Margibi County for the UP come at a blow for Emmanuel Nuquay, Mr. Boakai’s running mate.
The current Speaker of the lower house of the national legislature was picked in a bid to cement VP Boakai’s hold of the Kpelleh belt.
The ruling Party is trailing Weah’s CDC by 3,000 votes from 60 per cent of tallied votes so far.
Many are pointing to the infighting in the county’s legislative race for the showing.
Political observers say, Speaker Nuquay’s long-standing feud with electoral District Four lawmaker Ben Fofana coupled with Speaker Nuquay’s breakup with influential youth and successor, Clarence Gahr was key to his downfall.
Though Rep. Fofana contested on the candidate of Unity Party, he reportedly slowed down in supporting the Boakai-Nuquay because according to him, Speaker Nuquay was still supporting his candidate Francis Cooper.
Rep. Fofana leads in his district by a distant margin but the Unity Party fared poorly in district four and other parts of Margibi County . All of the candidates Speaker Nuquay supported in the county lost.
FrontPageAfrica has gathered that those who won are planning to fight Speaker Nuquay.
In District #5, Unity Party lost in Speaker Nuquay’s District #5. Already, the agitations were high in the district after Mr. Gahr, who just won the seat vacated by Speaker Nuquay, was removed.
Not many people welcomed Speaker Nuquay’s decision to field his protégé Alexander Charlie, Nuquay’s anointed candidate in the district to replace him was responsible for the Unity Party Dismal performance in Bong County.
Speaker Nuquay established many frontlines for himself and it is left to see how he will make fence to secure his future.
In Montserrado County, which has 1,790 polling places, with 262 reporting, Senator Weah leads with 50.4 percent of the votes followed by VP Boakai with 26.6 percent, Cummings with 9.6 percent and Cllr. Brumskine with 7.2 percent.
In Maryland County, Senator Weah has 3,892 votes for 36.2 percent followed by Alex Cummings with 3,381 votes for 35.8 percent and VP Boakai with 1,612 votes for 15.0 percent.
In Nimba County, Senator Prince Y. Johnson, as expected has a commanding lead with 13,786 votes for 52.6 percent followed by VP Boakai with 4,744 for 18.1 percent.
In Rivercess County, Cllr. Brumskine has 37.3 percent followed by Weak with 36.1 percent.
In River Gee County, Senator Weah has so far, 12,883 votes for 60.7 percent followed by VP Boakai with 3,369 votes for 15.9 percent.
In Sinoe County, Senator Weah has so far 9,391 votes for 69.3 percent followed by VP Boakai with 1,771 votes for 13.1 percent.