Ex-international footballer George Weah elected new Liberia president

Former soccer star George Weah has won Liberia's presidential run-off election and will succeed incumbent Ellen Johnson Sirleaf next month, the country's first democratic transition in over 70 years.

With 98.1 per cent of the vote counted, Weah led with 61.5 per cent to Vice President Joseph Boakai's 38.5 per cent, National Elections Commission



Chairman Jerome Korkoyah told reporters in the capital Monrovia on Thursday.

At his party headquarters outside Monrovia, tears streamed down Weah's face as he greeted supporters from a balcony. Below, hundreds of young people sang and danced to a live performance of Hipco, Liberian hip hop music popular with the country's impoverished youth.