Weah vows to oust Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

MONROVIA (AFP) – Football legend George Weah vowed Wednesday to play a leading role in the campaign to oust Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in upcoming polls, despite the failure of his own electoral bid.

“I will be in the vanguard of the campaign that will lead us to victory,” the one-time AC Milan and Chelsea striker said in Monrovia.

Weah, a former world footballer of the year who lost to Sirleaf in the last election in 2005, crashed out of this year’s presidential contest in May when his party decided to field economist Winston Tubman as its candidate.

However despite declaring at the time the decision left him with “a heavy heart”, Weah has thrown his support behind the nephew of former president William Tubman and will be his vice-presidential running-mate.

“Winston Tubman is the standard bearer of the Congress for Democratic Change. I am the vice standard bearer, he is my boss,” said Weah.

“Even if the crowd is coming to the CDC because of me, the essential thing here is that they are going to vote for a team where Winston Tubman is the president and I am the vice president.”

The CDC last year merged with several mainstream political parties to strengthen its opposition to Sirleaf, Africa’s first democratically elected female president, who is seeking a second term in office.

Tubman is seen as her main rival while Charles Brumskine, leader of the Liberty Party, will be taking another shot at the top job.

Despite her popularity abroad, Sirleaf has been criticised at home for her decision to run, after initially promising she would serve only one term

She has said she wants to continue her work in rebuilding the west African nation which was devastated by the 1989-2003 civil war.

Presidential and legislative elections will take place on October 11.