Former Liberian footballer, George Weah, has declared to run for the Presidency of his country in 2017. The former World Player of the Year made the announcement last Thursday in front of thousands of his party supporters in Monrovia.
This is Weah’s second strike at the Presidency. In 2005, he formed his Congress for Democratic Change party and contested the election against the current President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in 2005. After losing he contested in 2011 as the running mate of Winston Tubman but again lost after a runoff election.
His announcement to run for the presidency in 2017 does not come as a surprise to many, considering President Sirleaf is leaving office in 2017.
Weah is expected to run against the current vice president of Liberia, Joseph Boakai. The former footballer has been criticized before for lack of experience. Some have said he is using his mega star status to lay claim to the presidency even though he does not have a significant experience in politics.
But in his defense he has always stressed that he is more of a people’s leader than other experienced politicians.
His supporters will hope that he can transfer the same prowess he had in football to his political career.
(C) Politico 03/05/16
