NEWLY elected Liberian President, George Opong Weah, is the man of the moment in his country and the toast of the international community over his achievements as an iconic football star and political fighter. His story makes an interesting read, aptly exemplifying a popular saying which has been modified to read: “where there is a will, there is a Weah”.

His success story resonates with the rhapsodic rags-to-riches storylines in movies and novels. The only African to win the FIFA World Player of the Year and the Ballon d’Or, Weah may have scored his most important goal yet on the political terrain by emerging the President of Liberia after a long and tortuous quest for the presidency.

He was declared winner of the December 26, 2017 runoff election by Liberia’s National Elections Commission, NEC, with the Coalition for Democratic Change, CDC, (which he founded) polling 722,185 votes, representing 61.5 per cent, while his main rival, Vice President Joseph Boakai of the Unity Party, UP, scored 457,579 or 28.5 per cent.

Weah had, during the October 10, 2017 general elections, defeated 21 candidates, securing 38.4 per cent of the votes which fell short of the 50 per cent plus one vote required for victory. This necessitated a runoff with Boakai. However, the run-off was delayed for seven weeks owing to legal challenges launched by one of the contestants and third-place finisher in the first round, Charles Brumskine.

The President-elect is expected to be sworn into office next week as the 25th President of Liberia, Africa’s oldest republic which was in the 1990s ruined by a protracted civil war that reportedly claimed about 250,000 lives with thousands fleeing the country. In 2014 and 2015, the Ebola epidemic claimed 4,810 lives. Both tragic events have left the Liberian economy prostrate.

Weah is now saddled with the onerous duty of delivering his ambitious campaign promises such as creation of more jobs and provision of free education and free healthcare. With about 64 per cent of Liberians living below the poverty line (the World Food Programme, WFP, estimates that 1.3 million citizens live in extreme poverty due to skyrocketing inflation and economic mismanagement) the tasks before Weah are enormous, but he can tackle them with clear vision and strong political will.

We advise President George Weah to model himself as a good example in transparent and corruption-free governance. He must not forget his humble beginnings in Clara Town. Millions of his soccer devotees from around the world expect so much from him, and he must not disappoint.

We congratulate all Liberians for a relatively successful election, and thank the outgoing President, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, for leading her country to a peaceful transition from one political party regime to another in a country formerly in the vise-grip of warlords.