Vote counting is under way in Liberia in a run-off presidential election between Vice-President Joseph Boakai and ex-football star George Weah.

Mr Weah, 51, won the first round, but did not secure the required 50% of the vote for an outright victory.

Legal challenges delayed the vote to replace Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa's first elected female president.

Turnout seems to have been low, but the result is expected to lead to the first smooth transfer of power in 73 years.

More than two million people were eligible to cast their ballots in the nation of 4.6 million people, founded by freed US slaves in the 19th Century.

The final result is expected later in the week.

Who is the favourite?

Mr Weah, the former AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain player, defeated Ms Johnson Sirleaf in the first round in 2005 but lost to her in the subsequent run-off.

In the following election's run-off, in 2011, when he ran as a running mate to the opposition candidate, his coalition boycotted the vote, citing irregularities.

This time, the mood at the headquarters of Mr Weah's Congress for Democratic Change party is ecstatic, with his supporters predicting victory as unofficial partial results come in.

"We know our result from our war room," Eddie Tarawali, a supporter of Mr Weah, told the BBC.

In contrast, the few people at the offices of Mr Boakai's United Party have long faces, reports BBC Africa's Umaru Fofana from the capital, Monrovia.

However, the party's youth leader, Whroway Bryant, said there was "absolutely" no doubt that the 73-year-old vice-president was winning.

Why was the vote delayed?

A representative for the opposition Liberty Party, Charles Brumskine, who came third in October's first round, challenged the result, saying it had been marred by "massive fraud and irregularities".

But earlier this month the Supreme Court ruled that evidence of fraud was insufficient to merit a re-run of the opening round, and the run-off, originally due on 7 November, was announced.

Weah supporters had alleged some ballot-rigging, although there was no immediate official confirmation. Mr Weah himself said, after casting his vote, the election had been "peaceful and good".

Goodluck Jonathan, the former Nigerian president, who is an observer at the election, told the BBC he was certain it would be free and fair despite "some challenges".

Ms Johnson Sirleaf praised a violence-free electoral process, saying: "The ballot box has replaced bullets and electoral disputes are settled through the courts".

Christopher Fomunyoh, an election observer from the National Democratic Institute, told the BBC that voting had gone much more smoothly than the first time round.

Why was this election so important?

This will be the first time for many generations that Liberians witness a transfer of power from one elected leader to another.

Ms Sirleaf took office in 2006, after her predecessor, Charles Taylor, was forced out by rebels in 2003, ending a long civil war.

Taylor is serving a 50-year prison sentence in the UK for war crimes related to the conflict in neighbouring Sierra Leone.

Source:
courtesy of BBC NEWS

by BBC NEWS

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