LIBERIA: Liberians go to the polls today to vote in a new president amid growing concerns over how the losing candidates and their ardent supporters might respond to defeat.
So far the political rallies held throughout the country have been most noticeable for their peaceful atmosphere and political goodwill.
Posters urging Liberians to accept the outcome of today's election are displayed throughout Monrovia, and candidates and election officials alike have thus far relayed the message of peace and reconciliation to the population at every opportunity.
Last Saturday more than 100,000 supporters of former football star George Weah thronged the streets of Monrovia in his party's final political rally while three similar rallies took place, including one by former dictator Charles Taylor's National Patriotic Party.
"We do not want violence any more; let people support who they want, but George Weah is the best man for the job. He has never betrayed the Liberian people," Weah supporter Lucy Toe said emotionally as she marched.
But the violence that has plagued the country for decades - and only ceased in 2003 when Mr Taylor went into forced exile and 15,000 UN peacekeepers were introduced - remains just beneath the surface. On May 11th last thousands of ex-combatants went on the rampage in Nimba County's capital, Ganta, because the authorities had failed to pay their school fees as promised under the United Nations disarmament programme. Protesters destroyed shops and voter registration centres and looted non-governmental organisations' offices.
A statement from the United Nations Mission in Liberia (Unmil) said "the threat posed by the over 100,000 unemployed, volatile and restive ex-combatants to security and stability in the country must be taken seriously".
Of the 22 presidential contenders, Mr Weah and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf are considered the two front runners even though both have links to Mr Taylor.
Mr Weah, a former world, European and Fifa footballer of the year who played for AC Milan and Chelsea, is a popular choice among the youth, despite being poorly educated and having no political background.
When asked during a press conference on Saturday what his leadership credentials were, he replied: "I'm the best guy to lead this country because people love me. The beautiful thing about me is that all the other presidential candidates want to work for me."
But there are fears among Unmil's command about the unpredictability of Mr Weah's support group. He has surrounded himself with a number of Mr Taylor's former supporters and his support base comprises the nation's volatile youth, which must share some of the responsibility for the many atrocities committed during the country's 14-year civil war.
"The UN has no particular preference in terms of which candidate wins, as long as the process is democratic," said one Unmil source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "There are concerns, however, over how some of the supporters of the losing candidates will react to defeat."
Ms Johnson Sirleaf used to be a senior UN official as well as an economist with the World Bank, and has been active in Liberian politics since the 1970s. However, she was a finance minister in Mr Taylor's government, which has led a number of Liberians to be suspicious of her motives.
She said yesterday she would accept the result whatever the outcome: "I wish the other candidates and their parties would have made a more concrete statement in relation to adhering to a peaceful aftermath following tomorrow's election."