Claim: “Early tallying in the Liberian election shows incumbent president George Weah taking the lead.”
Verdict: Correct, but DW Africa says it was an editorial error.
Full Text: George Weah, incumbent Liberia president contested the October 10, 2023 elections to retain his seat against 19 other candidates. He was elected in 2017 in run-off elections where he accumulated higher votes than former vice president Joseph Boakai who is the major contender.
More than 2.4 million eligible voters in Liberia went to the polls on Tuesday, October 10 to pick new officials, including the President, Senators, and Members of the House.
According to data from the National Elections Commission of Liberia, the democratic exercise took place at 2,080 voting precincts and 5,890 polling stations.
Verification: Stage Media contacted DW Africa’s Liberia correspondent, Evelyn Seagbeh who clarified that the post circulating on social media was from DW Africa but stated it was a mistake from the editorial desk.
She, however, indicated that the post had been taken down by DW Africa.
DW Africa has, however, made a rectification to its report posted earlier.
Of the initial 0.27% presidential results from 16 of 5,890 polling places announced by the NEC a day right after the elections former Vice President Joseph Boakai is in the lead by 3,119 (60.17%), while incumbent President George Weah is 1,681 (32.43%).
Conclusion: Correct, President George Weah is in the lead following the October 10, 2023 elections, according to DW Africa, but the institution claims it was an editing error.
