Liberia Swears In Boakai As President Today
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Joseph Boakai will be sworn in as Liberia’s president on Monday (today) following his election victory over former football star, George Weah, with the challenge of tackling poverty and corruption.
The 79-year-old narrowly beat former Ballon d’Or winner Weah in November’s run-off poll with 50.64 per cent of the votes to 49.36 per cent.
Weah conceded defeat in November 2023.
He will be sworn in for a six-year term during a ceremony in parliament in the capital Monrovia from 10:00 am (1000 GMT) in the presence of several foreign leaders and diplomatic delegations.
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Boakai has 40 years of political experience already behind him.
He was vice-president from 2006 to 2018 under Liberia’s first woman president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, before being soundly beaten by Weah in the 2017 election.
November’s poll in the West African country was peaceful in a region that has seen a succession of military coups in recent years in Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea and Niger.
But the small nation of five million has been plagued with corruption, high levels of poverty and a weak justice system, after years of civil war and an Ebola outbreak.
Impunity related to crimes committed during those civil wars is another unresolved issue.
The inauguration ceremony in parliament was attended by Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo and US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
