The 78-year-old president is expected to unite Liberia after the tumultuous tenure of his predecessor, George Weah.
Liberian election winner Joseph Boakai has worked for decades in power cabinets, for example as vice president and minister. Now he is stepping into the limelight as president.
The outgoing president of Liberia in West Africa George Weah admitted that he suffered an election defeat in Tuesday’s tight second round of the presidential election. This is reported by the British broadcasting company BBC, among others.
The former football star congratulated the election winner.
– The people of Liberia have spoken and we hear their voice, George Weah said. Celebrations began in Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, after the election results were announced.
Boakai challenged Weah in the last presidential election by Ellen Sirleaf as vice president in 2017. Now the parts are changing.
The reticent political veteran lives in an apartment during his studies
Whereas George Weah, who played in Milan, Paris and London, preferred fast cars, expensive wristwatches and custom-made suits, Joseph Boakai has lived in the same bungalow since the 1950s. The interior is characterized as almost the same as fifty years ago.
Opponents doubt the elderly president’s energy sufficiency for the country’s number one job. Like his American official brother Joe Biden, “Sleepy Joe” has allegedly been fumbling in his public appearances and falling asleep at public events.
Gold mining and a good harvest boost Liberia’s economy
The economy of Liberia, which is socially stable, is on the rise. In 2022, the economy grew by 4.8 percent, boosted by gold production and successful cassava and rice harvests.
Still, according to the World Bank, some of Liberia’s approximately five million inhabitants suffer from food shortages.
Liberia’s problems are familiar to many African countries, starting with corruption at the top and weak governance. The politically inexperienced sports hero Weah was also accused of the same.
Joseph Boakai represents a different kind of leader to voters.
– Boakai is like a grandfather. I would trust my life in his hands. Now the life of the whole country is entrusted to him, says the researcher who voted for Boakai Robert Neajai Pailey.
Liberia is a republic founded in 1822 by former slaves. Independence has not gone smoothly in Liberia either. More than 250,000 people died in two civil wars between 1989 and 2003. The Ebola hemorrhagic fever claimed the lives of thousands of people in the 2010s.
So there are enough old challenges for the term of the new president.
Reuters