Liberia opposition leader Joseph Bokai has been elected president of Liberia after garnering 50.56 per cent of the votes cast, beating president George Weah who got 49.36% as announced in the final results by the election commission yesterday.
The 78-year-old former vice president lost to Weah in the 2017 runoff.
He has been campaigning on the promise to “rescue” Liberia.
In an interview with reporters, Boakai said he is expecting a lot of challenges, particularly with the economy.
“The first step of rescuing Liberia is taking it from these people. It has been rescued. The next thing is to deal with the issues that have been hanging over this country.” Boakai said.
The president-elect said a key area from which Liberians had not benefited was the mining sector, despite the West African country’s rich mineral reserves, including diamonds, gold, iron ore, and timber.
“To be frank with you, the mining sector has been one of the problems in this country. I have seen our resources exploited and the life of the people remains the worst.” He said.
He said he would be reviewing the mining concessions if warranted adding that he will take a keen look at the sector.
“We have to because we are inheriting.” He said.
The economy of Liberia grew by 4.8 per cent in 2022, driven by gold production and a relatively good rice harvest, but more than 80 per cent of the population still face moderate or severe food insecurity, according to the World Bank.
