MONROVIA, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- Liberia's National Elections Commission (NEC) on Monday evening formally declared Joseph Boakai, leader of the country's main opposition party, as the winner of the 2023 presidential election.
Davidetta Lansanah, head of the NEC, made the announcement during a press conference at its headquarters in Monrovia, the national capital.
With 100 percent of the votes from all 5,890 polling places across Liberia's 15 counties counted, Boakai, the candidate of the opposition Unity Party and former vice president of the West African country, garnered 814,481 votes, or 50.64 percent of the vote, compared with 793,914, or 49.36 percent, for Weah, the leader of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change party, he said.
Unlike the first round of the election in which the winner must score over 50 percent of the vote as stipulated by the country's electoral law, the winner of the second round only needs a simple majority.
Ahead of the formal declaration of the presidential runoff election result, Weah conceded defeat to Boakai on Friday.
He congratulated his political rival and urged citizens to rally behind the new leadership for the continued development and stability of Liberia.
The presidential runoff was held on Nov. 14, following the initial polls held on Oct. 10 without a clear winner among 20 candidates. ■
