The National Elections Commission (NEC) is expected to announce the final results of the October 10, 2023 general and presidential elections this evening, and to disclose whether or not there will be a run-off.
Since October 11, the NEC has been announcing the results of the elections in bits and pieces, with less than 1% of the results left unannounced yet. To date, the NEC has announced 99.97% of the results, constituting 5,888 of the 5,890 polling places in the country, with President George M. Weah slightly leading the race, accumulating 803,956 votes (43.84%).
Ambassador Joseph N. Boakai of the Unity Party, the lead contender to President Weah, is at 43.45% (796,513 votes), followed by Edward W. Appleton with 2.20% (40,262 votes). Lusinee F. Kamara (ALCOP) is at fourth place, with 1.96% (35,984 votes), followed by Alexander B. Cummings (CPP), with 1.61% (29,612 votes).
There were twenty (20) presidential candidates in the election: Edward W. Appleton, Jr., Joseph N. Boakai, Allen R. Brown, Jr., Alexander B. Cummings, Simeon C.M. Freeman, Tiawan Saye Gongloe, Lusinee F. Kamara, Sr., David GB Kiamu, Alexander N. Kollie, Sheikh A. Kouyateh, Endu Alehma Kromah, Richard Saye Miller, Clarence K. Moniba, Robert Franz Morris, Sara Beysolow Nyanti, William Wiah Tuider, Joshua Tom Turner, George Manneh Weah, Jeremiah Z. Whapoe and Luther N. Yorfee.
About 79% of the total 2,471,617 registered voters went to the polls to fulfill Article 83(a) of the 1986 Constitution, which states, “Voting for President, Vice President, members of the Senate and members of the House of Representatives shall be conducted throughout the Republic on the second Tuesday in October of each election year.”
However, based on the results, it can be concluded that all the candidates fell short of securing a first-round victory, which requires a candidate to obtain 50%+1 vote; as such, it is expected that the NEC may announce a date for a run-off between the CDC and UP.
Article 83(b) made it clear that the presidential election shall be determined by an absolute majority of the votes cast, which means a candidate must obtain, at least, 50%+1 of the votes to be declared a winner. But if no candidate obtains an absolute majority in the first ballot, a second ballot shall be conducted on the second Tuesday following, with the two candidates who received the greatest numbers of votes on the first ballot being designated to participate in the run-off election.
According to Article 83(c), the returns of the elections shall be declared by the National Elections Commission (NEC) not later than fifteen days after the casting of ballots.
However, any party or candidate who complains about the manner in which the elections were conducted or who challenges the results thereof shall have the right to file a complaint with the NEC not later than seven (7) days after the announcement of the results of the election, and the NEC shall, within thirty (30) days of receipt of the complaint conduct an impartial investigation and render a decision which may involve a dismissal of the complaint or a nullification of the election of a candidate.
If the political party or candidate affected is not satisfied with the NEC ruling, they can, within seven (7) days, appeal against the NEC decision to the Supreme Court, and the NEC is obliged to forward all the records in the case to the Supreme Court no later than seven (7) days, in order that the high court may make its determination.
The 2023 election has been described as critical due to the fact that it is the first time the National Elections Commission (NEC) is conducting an election using biometric voter registration system (even though the voting process will be manual); security fully provided by state security agencies without the help of international forces; the NEC conducting the election with minimum technical assistance from international partners; and, to a large extent, the government providing the financial resources for the conduct of the election.
