Liberia's Supreme Court has ordered preparations for
Tuesday's presidential run-off to be halted amid allegations of fraud in the
first round.
Ex-football star George Weah and Vice-President Joseph
Boakai are due to go head-to-head in the 7 November vote. But the Liberty
Party's Charles Brumskine, who came third in the first round, has challenged
the result.
Last month's election was the country's first independently
run vote following the end of civil war in 2003. Following the announcement,
riot police were deployed to guard the court and electoral commission.
Later, a delegation arrived in the capital, among them the
heads of the regional grouping Ecowas, and the Africa Union. They are meeting
the heads of all the political parties.
Mr Brumskine and the Liberty Party said the first round was
"characterised by massive systematic irregularities and fraud",
including polling stations opening late and therefore preventing people from
voting.
The election is to be postponed until his accusations are
properly investigated, the court says.But even if his case is thrown out,
observers say it is likely to delay next week's vote as the commission will
have lost valuable preparation time.
The Liberty Party is not alone in its allegations. The
accusation of irregularities is backed by two other political parties -
including Mr Boakai's Unity Party, which on Sunday alleged that its own
president had interfered in the process.
In a statement, it said Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa's
first female elected president and a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, had
attempted to influence the outcome of the poll. bbc
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