Former Finance Minister Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf claimed victory tonight in Liberia's presidential run-off and looked set to become Africa's first elected female head of state.
Announcing what seemed an unbeatable lead for the Harvard-educated banker, the National Elections Commission said that with ballots tallied from more than 90 percent of polling stations, Johnson-Sirleaf had 59.1 per cent of the votes from Tuesday's election.
Her rival, millionaire soccer star George Weah, had 40.9 per cent.
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf
"I think the trend is now irreversible," 67-year-old Ms Johnson-Sirleaf said. "Just my own performance ... is going to raise the participation of women not just in Liberia but also in Africa. It's a big challenge but I'm looking forward to it."
Former AC Milan striker Weah (39), whose rags-to-riches career is widely admired by Liberia's poor youth, had earlier filed a formal complaint of fraud with the electoral commission and international observers who monitored voting.
He said the poll, the first since a 14-year civil war that devastated the West African state and killed a quarter of a million people, was riddled with irregularities, including doctored ballots.
"I hope that ... Mr Weah will see reason, will accept the result, which I believe reflects the choice of the Liberian people," Ms Johnson-Sirleaf said. She added she was ready to offer him a post in her government.
The presidential election run-off was given a generally clean bill of health by international monitors. The electoral commission said it was checking
Mr Weah, who had placed first in an inconclusive first round of voting a month ago, said he was consulting with the international community about his allegations of fraud. Some of his fans had staged minor protests against the alleged fraud.
Although the capital Monrovia was calm today, UN peacekeepers had used batons last night to break up a crowd of dozens of angry Weah supporters.