{"id":369081,"date":"2017-11-07T07:33:58","date_gmt":"2017-11-07T07:33:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=369081"},"modified":"2017-11-07T07:33:58","modified_gmt":"2017-11-07T07:33:58","slug":"liberian-court-halts-presidential-run-off-vote-amid-fraud-probe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/11\/liberian-court-halts-presidential-run-off-vote-amid-fraud-probe\/","title":{"rendered":"Liberian court halts presidential run-off vote amid fraud probe"},"content":{"rendered":"

Liberia\u2019s Supreme Court on Monday put a presidential run-off on hold until the electoral commission can investigate claims of irregularities and alleged fraud in last month\u2019s first round of voting.<\/p>\n

Former footballer George Weah was initially set to face Vice-President Joseph Boakai on Tuesday to determine who will replace Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. A successful vote would be Liberia\u2019s first democratic transfer of power in over 70 years.<\/p>\n

But preparations for the second round were halted last week when the Supreme Court announced it was examining a complaint by the Liberty Party of third-placed candidate Charles Brumskine.<\/p>\n

The Supreme Court\u2019s order for a full investigation into the allegations could push back the run-off date by weeks or even result in a re-run of the first round.<\/p>\n

\"A
A general view shows the headquarters of the Liberty Party in the Congo Town neighbourhood of Monrovia, Liberia November 6, 2017. REUTERS.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThe NEC (National Elections Commission) is stopped and prohibited from conducting the run off election until the complaint filed by the petitioners is investigated by the NEC,\u201d the Supreme Court ruling said.<\/p>\n

Addressing the Supreme Court last week, Brumskine cited \u201cgross irregularities\u201d in the first round and accused NEC officials of fraud.<\/p>\n

The NEC has denied wrongdoing and said the election was largely fair. International observers say they saw no major problems with the vote.<\/p>\n

\"A
A general view shows the headquarters of the Liberty Party in the Congo Town neighbourhood of Monrovia, Liberia November 6, 2017. REUTERS.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But a growing chorus of parties have expressed doubt about the vote, including Boakai\u2019s ruling Unity Party, which last week accused Johnson Sirleaf, one of its own members, of trying to influence the vote. She rejected the allegation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe course we pursue is not about Charles Walker Brumskine. It is not about the Liberty Party. It is greater than all of us. It is about our country,\u201d Brumskine said following the Supreme Court ruling.
\nJanga Kowo, Secretary General of Weah\u2019s CDC party, called upon supporters to remain calm and allow the legal process to run its course. The Unity Party had no immediate comment on Monday\u2019s ruling.<\/p>\n

Expectations of a poll delay have increased tensions in Liberia, where many are eager for change after 12 years of Johnson Sirleaf\u2019s rule. Her tenure cemented peace after a long civil war, but many Liberians say she did little to alleviate widespread poverty despite vast iron ore reserves.<\/p>\n

It is now unclear when the run-off will take place.<\/p>\n

The NEC has until mid-November to rule on the Liberty Party\u2019s complaint. If it is rejected, Brumskine could still take the case back before the Supreme Court with an appeal, potentially pushing the date of the second round into December.<\/p>\n

The court also has the option of calling a new first round vote to be held within 60 days.
\n–
\nBy: Reuters<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Liberia\u2019s Supreme Court on Monday put a presidential run-off on hold until the electoral commission can investigate claims of irregularities and alleged fraud in last month\u2019s first round of voting. Former footballer George Weah was initially set to face Vice-President Joseph Boakai on Tuesday to determine who will replace Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ellen Johnson […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[107,11],"tags":[2166,1108,597],"yoast_head":"\nLiberian court halts presidential run-off vote amid fraud probe - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/11\/liberian-court-halts-presidential-run-off-vote-amid-fraud-probe\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Liberian court halts presidential run-off vote amid fraud probe - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Liberia\u2019s Supreme Court on Monday put a presidential run-off on hold until the electoral commission can investigate claims of irregularities and alleged fraud in last month\u2019s first round of voting. Former footballer George Weah was initially set to face Vice-President Joseph Boakai on Tuesday to determine who will replace Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ellen Johnson […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/11\/liberian-court-halts-presidential-run-off-vote-amid-fraud-probe\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/citi97.3\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-11-07T07:33:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Liberia-1.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kojo Akoto Boateng\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@citi973\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@citi973\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kojo Akoto Boateng\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/11\/liberian-court-halts-presidential-run-off-vote-amid-fraud-probe\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/11\/liberian-court-halts-presidential-run-off-vote-amid-fraud-probe\/\",\"name\":\"Liberian court halts presidential run-off vote amid fraud probe - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-11-07T07:33:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-11-07T07:33:58+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1642ef473fe39bf0c4e2f2f252678eb1\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/11\/liberian-court-halts-presidential-run-off-vote-amid-fraud-probe\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/11\/liberian-court-halts-presidential-run-off-vote-amid-fraud-probe\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/11\/liberian-court-halts-presidential-run-off-vote-amid-fraud-probe\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Liberian court halts presidential run-off vote amid fraud probe\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/\",\"name\":\"Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always\",\"description\":\"Ghana News | Ghana Politics | Ghana Soccer | Ghana Showbiz\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1642ef473fe39bf0c4e2f2f252678eb1\",\"name\":\"Kojo Akoto Boateng\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ba51f5385119e83762c67ecd6aa410ab?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ba51f5385119e83762c67ecd6aa410ab?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Kojo Akoto Boateng\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/author\/kojo\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Liberian court halts presidential run-off vote amid fraud probe - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/11\/liberian-court-halts-presidential-run-off-vote-amid-fraud-probe\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Liberian court halts presidential run-off vote amid fraud probe - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always","og_description":"Liberia\u2019s Supreme Court on Monday put a presidential run-off on hold until the electoral commission can investigate claims of irregularities and alleged fraud in last month\u2019s first round of voting. Former footballer George Weah was initially set to face Vice-President Joseph Boakai on Tuesday to determine who will replace Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ellen Johnson […]","og_url":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/11\/liberian-court-halts-presidential-run-off-vote-amid-fraud-probe\/","og_site_name":"Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/citi97.3","article_published_time":"2017-11-07T07:33:58+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Liberia-1.jpg"}],"author":"Kojo Akoto Boateng","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@citi973","twitter_site":"@citi973","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kojo Akoto Boateng","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/11\/liberian-court-halts-presidential-run-off-vote-amid-fraud-probe\/","url":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/11\/liberian-court-halts-presidential-run-off-vote-amid-fraud-probe\/","name":"Liberian court halts presidential run-off vote amid fraud probe - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2017-11-07T07:33:58+00:00","dateModified":"2017-11-07T07:33:58+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1642ef473fe39bf0c4e2f2f252678eb1"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/11\/liberian-court-halts-presidential-run-off-vote-amid-fraud-probe\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/11\/liberian-court-halts-presidential-run-off-vote-amid-fraud-probe\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/11\/liberian-court-halts-presidential-run-off-vote-amid-fraud-probe\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Liberian court halts presidential run-off vote amid fraud probe"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/","name":"Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always","description":"Ghana News | Ghana Politics | Ghana Soccer | Ghana Showbiz","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1642ef473fe39bf0c4e2f2f252678eb1","name":"Kojo Akoto Boateng","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ba51f5385119e83762c67ecd6aa410ab?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ba51f5385119e83762c67ecd6aa410ab?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Kojo Akoto Boateng"},"url":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/author\/kojo\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369081"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=369081"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369081\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=369081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=369081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=369081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}