LIBERIA: Election officials begin ballot counting process after tension and violence contributed to a low voter turnout
Record ID:
327619
LIBERIA: Election officials begin ballot counting process after tension and violence contributed to a low voter turnout
- Title: LIBERIA: Election officials begin ballot counting process after tension and violence contributed to a low voter turnout
- Date: 9th November 2011
- Summary: MONROVIA, LIBERIA (NOVEMBER 08, 2011) (REUTERS) POLLING AGENT COUNTING BALLOTS MONITORED BY LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS MORE OF VOTE COUNTING GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL TAKING NOTES VOTE COUNTING LOCAL ELECTION OBSERVER VOTES BEING COUNTED INTERNATIONAL OBSERVER TAKING NOTES BALLOTS COUNTED INTERNATIONAL OBSERVER POLLING AGENT COUNTING VOTES
- Embargoed: 24th November 2011 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Liberia, Liberia
- Country: Liberia
- Topics: Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA8GZZ46K5490KE4XQOQO7YQ2MK
- Story Text: Ballot counting in Liberia's run-off presidential elections began after a day of poor voter turnout.
Liberians trickled into polling stations in early voting on Tuesday (November 08) after the run-up to the presidential election was marred by a day of deadly clashes and an opposition call for a boycott.
Incumbent Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is tipped to win after leading last month's first round vote and because second placed challenger Winston Tubman has withdrawn from the contest citing electoral fraud.
But, a low turnout in the run-off risks handing Johnson-Sirleaf a tougher new mandate, despite broad international praise for her and condemnation of the boycott call.
United Nations (U.N.) peacekeepers were deployed on the streets of Monrovia, but the capital was quiet overnight after a day of clashes that officials say killed at least two. There were no reports of trouble elsewhere in the West African state.
Reuters reporters said numbers at polling stations in Monrovia on Tuesday were well down on those when Liberians turned out in the rain during the first round vote on October 11 in the first locally-organised presidential election since a civil war ended in 2003.
Some local observers said voters were simply being cautious; waiting to see if tensions would begin to escalate at the opening of the polls.
On Monday (November 07), police fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of Tubman's supporters and officers also fired live rounds when they stormed Tubman's CDC party headquarters The U.N. has confirmed the death toll was two.
The vote is expected to provide a measure of the West African state's progress since civil war ended in 2003 and to pave the way for new investment, but fears are rising it could instead usher in open-ended political turmoil.
U.S. President Barack Obama called on Liberian security forces to show restraint and allow peaceful protest, and he warned against any voting violations.
Two radio stations -- King FM and Love FM -- which are seen to support Tubman and running mate and former football star George Weah, were shut down overnight.
After voting in Fefee, her home town just outside Monrovia, Johnson-Sirleaf sought to dampen tensions, saying she regretted the loss of life and promised an investigation However, Tubman, a Harvard-educated former U.N. ambassador, has seized on the clashes to criticize Johnson-Sirleaf, saying she had used "violence against peaceful people", and subsequently called for a vote boycott.
Liberia is one of the world's poorest countries, with more than half its citizens surviving on less than 50 U.S. cents a day. Fourteen years of intermittent fighting killed nearly a quarter of a million people and has left its infrastructure in ruins.
Johnson-Sirleaf -- whose standing at home, where many complain that change has come too slowly, is not always on a par with international praise for the recently-named Nobel Peace Prize winner -- took nearly 44 percent of the first round vote.
She has since won the backing of the third-placed finisher, former warlord Prince Johnson.
Tubman -- who won about 33 percent in the first round -- has alleged three ballot boxes were tampered with and said he would only participate in a run-off if it were delayed by two to four weeks and counting procedures were amended.
International election observers called the October 11 vote mostly free and fair. The United States, the United Nations, regional bloc ECOWAS and the African Union have all criticized Tubman's boycott decision.
Many of his supporters are unemployed former fighters and, while it is too early to be sure of turnout, analysts warned a successful boycott would complicate the incumbent's next mandate, perhaps forcing her into dialogue with Tubman..
Turnout in the first round was a touch more than 71 percent.
Analysts had anticipated that a smooth election would trigger a surge in foreign investment in resources such as iron ore and oil, which have already attracted major firms including ArcelorMittal, BHP Billiton and Anadarko Petroleum.
Many in Liberia are just hoping for peace. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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