Another coup: a peaceful election

摘要

For the second time in a month, Liberians have gone to the polls to decide who their 23rd president will be. In October's first round, voters eliminated all but two of the 22 contestants; this week they made their final choice. As The Economist went to press, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf had established an early lead over George Weah, but counting all the votes may take over a week. But, equally important, the whole process, so far, has been entirely peaceful: testimony to the voters' evident desire finally to put decades of political violence behind them. The two candidates in the run-off could not have been more different. Mr Weah, who got most votes in the first round, is a former footballer, and the most famous person in Liberia. He was born in a poor suburb of the capital, Monrovia, but became a star at European clubs such as Chelsea and AC Milan.