Court addresses poll dispute

Liberia's Supreme Court on Friday began hearing an appeal filed by two political parties claiming fraud in the first round of the presidential election and calling for a rerun of the vote. ‘We remain optimistic until the final ruling is given. This is the rule of law and the Supreme Court is the final decision-making body,’ said Liberal party spokesperson Darius Dillon. A report on the News24 site notes that the party’s veteran opposition leader Charles Brumskine and incumbent Vice-President Joseph Boakai of the Unity party launched the lawsuit after the country's electoral commission ruled that irregularities recorded during the poll did not affect the overall result. The report notes that the 10 October first-round vote was held to replace President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.