Liberia begins counting ballots after voting

epa06257981 A Liberian woman casts her ballot to vote in presidential and general elections in West Point, Monrovia, Liberia, 10 October 2017. Liberians have voted in a presidential and general election on 10 October to elect a new president to succeed incumbent president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Liberia was the very first African nation to obtain independence in 1847. These elections are hoped to be the first peaceful and democratic transfer of power from Africa's first female democratically elected president, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf to a new leader who has to continue the countries rebuild following nearly two decades of brutal civil war. EPA-EFE/AHMED JALLANZO

Bloomberg

Election officials in Liberia started counting ballots after polling stations closed in presidential and parliamentary elections that regional observers said were conducted peacefully. Liberians chose a president to replace Nobel Peace Price laureate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf from among 20 candidates who include a retired soccer star, a former warlord and a wealthy chicken farmer.
The turnout among the 2.1 million registered voters was high, John Mahama, the head of an observer mission from the Economic Community of West African States and a former president of Ghana, told. Even though some isolated incidents of violence occurred, “voting was generally peaceful,” he said.
Johnson Sirleaf, Africa’s first elected female president who’s governed the impoverished nation for 12 years, supported Vice President Joseph Boakai, 72, the leader of the ruling Unity Party.

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