Ex-footballer emerges President-elect

Former soccer star George Weah has defeated Vice President Joseph Boakai to win Liberia’s presidential run-off election and succeed incumbent Ellen Johnson Sirleaf next month, the country’s first democratic transition in over 70 years.

At his party headquarters outside Monrovia, tears streamed down Weah’s face as he greeted supporters from a balcony. Outside, young fans ran through the streets and blared car horns as dusk fell over the city.

With 98.1 percent of the vote counted, Weah led with 61.5 percent to Boakai’s 38.5 percent, National Election Commission Chairman Jerome Korkoyah told reporters in the capital Monrovia on Thursday.

“Success for George Weah is victory for the whole country,” a 47-year-old engineer named Randall Zarkpah said as he walked home with his young son.

Weah 51 , will succeed Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to become president next month, the country’s first democratic transition since 1944.