Liberian president likely to face runoff

Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is likely to face a runoff vote in her bid for re-election. Sirleaf holds 44.5 percent of the vote, followed by former diplomat Winston Tubman with 26.5 percent as votes from Tuesday's election are counted. Fifty percent is needed for an outright win, the BBC reported. Ex-warlord Prince Johnson holds 13.5 percent of the vote. The current standings are based on only 195,178 of the nearly 400,000 votes cast. The electoral commission has until Oct. 26 to announce the final results. A runoff vote will be held between the two top vote-getters if no candidate hits the 50 percent mark. Tuesday's poll was the first election fully organized by Liberia's National Election Commission. The 2005 election was conducted by the United Nations.