Former warlord endorses George Weah for President

Former Liberian warlord Prince Johnson has endorsed George Weah for president before a Nov. 7 run-off vote between the former soccer star and Vice President Joseph Boakai. The endorsement should help Weah, who won 38.4 percent of the vote in the first round this month, more than anyone else but shy of the 50.1 percent […]

Former Liberian warlord Prince Johnson has endorsed George Weah for president before a Nov. 7 run-off vote between the former soccer star and Vice President Joseph Boakai.

The endorsement should help Weah, who won 38.4 percent of the vote in the first round this month, more than anyone else but shy of the 50.1 percent needed to win outright. It also puts pressure on Boakai to drum up support from other candidates. 

Johnson’s endorsement of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in 2011 helped the Nobel Peace Prize winner get re-elected, though his influence has waned since then: he won 8 percent of votes this year, versus 11 percent in 2011. 

“I am humbled to announce … my full and unflinching support in collaboration with the Congress for Democratic Change party of Senator George Weah,” Prince Johnson said at his Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction party headquarters.