President George Weah to seek re-elections as Liberia heads to election

Monrovia - Liberian president, George Weah has revealed that he will be vying for a second term in office come the October presidential elections, this year.

“My fellow citizens, I will be coming to you shortly to ask you to renew my presidency for a second time the mandate that you gave me six years ago,” Weah said in his annual State of the Nation address.

However, his announcement has been received with lots of criticism by his political opponents who accused him of being out of touch with the population who are reeling under rising prices and food shortages.

The Liberian presidential elections are slotted for October 10. President Weah, the former international football star, and Ballon Dor Winner came to power in 2018 after winning an October 2017 election.
While campaigning for office in 2018, Weah promised to tackle corruption that continues to deny most Liberians of basic services.

In September last year, he accepted the resignations of three close allies after the U.S. accused them of corruption.

President Weah had earlier suspended the men from their roles after Washington D.C imposed sanctions on them over allegations tied to multi-million-dollar contracts and at least $1.5 million in diverted public funds.

Liberia was founded as a colony in 1822 by former U.S. slaves, it became a republic 25 years later — Africa's first.

The country's first female President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf ruled between 2006 and 2018. It is still recovering from back-to-back civil wars that left 250,000 people dead.

GAROWE ONLINE