Johnson-Sirleaf claims poll win in Liberia

The football superstar turned presidential candidate called for a halt today in vote counting that had him heading for defeat in war-ravaged Liberia, but also urged his angry supporters to remain calm.

Thousands of Liberians waved tree branches symbolising peace while hotly debating events overnight, when George Weah’s rival, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, claimed her 18 point lead with over 90% of votes counted made her the victor in Tuesday’s runoff.

Weah, alleging fraud, refused to concede.

If Johnson-Sirleaf prevails, she would be Africa’s first elected woman president.

Weah implored a crowd of about 1,500 supporters gathered at his Congress for Democratic Change headquarters today to remain calm and reject the violence that has left the country in ruins after its 1989-2003 civil war.

“I can see in your eyes, I can see in your faces, I can see you cry. But what I want to say, there’s no reason to cry,” said Weah, sweat pouring from his brow as he addressed the upturned faces of his supporters from a stage.

“We want no more war. We want no more war. Let us take our time and be peaceful.” Weah said.

“You have to be courageous, because you have not lost the elections.”

Steve Quoah, a top Weah adviser, said the party had filed papers with the electoral commission to stop vote tabulation.

“These are fraudulent results,” Quoah said. “There were massive fraud activities going on.”

Election officials weren’t immediately available for comment.

Quoah said the graft included “intimidation, harassment and prohibiting our poll workers from going into the polling stations.”

International observers have said they witnessed no widespread irregularities.

For Johnson-Sirleaf to become president of this West African country struggling to put decades of coups and conflict behind, the National Elections Commission must complete ballot counting and officially certify the results, a process that could take days.

National Elections Commission Chairwoman Frances Johnson-Morris said yesterday the commission had received a fraud complaint from Weah’s campaign and would investigate, but she gave no details.

Max van den Berg, head of a 50-member European Union observer mission, said the vote “has been well administered in a peaceful, transparent and orderly manner.”

David Carroll, leading a 28-person team Carter Center/National Democratic Institute team, said that while “minor irregularities” had been noted, “none of our observers saw any serious problems.”

Observers from the Economic Community of West African States, also deemed the vote fair.

The vote was Liberia’s first since civil war ended in 2003 and a transitional, caretaker government led by Gyude Bryant was set up. Some 15,000 UN peacekeepers are guarding the calm.

Many of Johnson-Sirleaf’s supporters have portrayed the vote as brains-versus-brawn face-off.

While Weah never graduated from high-school, Johnson-Sirleaf has a masters degree in public administration from Harvard University, and has held top regional jobs at the World Bank, the United Nations and within government.

Weah’s ascent from Monrovia’s slums to international football stardom had earned great appeal in a dirt-poor country short on heroes.

He has no experience in government, but that is seen as a plus by many in a country long-ruled by coup leaders and warlords.