Hundreds of supporters of Liberian soccer star George Weah protested at the US embassy in Monrovia today to denounce a presidential run-off he says was rigged to favour his Harvard-trained economist rival.
Chanting "No justice, No peace", the demonstrators were kept back by UN peacekeepers and local police backed by two armoured cars. They handed in a petition to US diplomats, but did not attempt to break through the security cordon.
They earlier tried to march to the National Elections Commission (NEC), which has issued voting tallies from last week's second round run-off showing former Finance Minister Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf beat Weah in the race for the presidency.
If her win is confirmed, Johnson-Sirleaf will become Africa's first elected female head of state. Jordanian UN troops blocked the protesters' route to the electoral headquarters, where Weah supporters had stoned police on Friday during a similar protest that turned violent.
Another more peaceful protest took place on Saturday.
Mr Weah, a former AC Milan striker who finished ahead of Johnson-Sirleaf in a first round vote last month, has complained of fraud in the November 8th runoff.
Some of his advisers want a rerun of the presidential poll, the first held since the end of a 14-year civil war in Liberia. "The election was not fair," said 37-year-old Sarah Makuni, one of the demonstrators, who carried banners reading "Election is not a selection" and "True democracy, not trickology".
But international observers and African leaders have praised the November 8th run-off as generally free and fair. The final results are expected to be announced this week.