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November 7, 2011 13:03
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Liberia election: deadly rioting on eve of run-off vote

Violence erupted between police and opposition protesters with the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC), who are calling for a boycott of Liberia's run-off election.

Liberia run off election violence 11 07 2011Enlarge
Liberian opposition Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) party supporters rally in Monrovia on November 7, 2011. At least one person was killed during the rally that turned violent on the eve of a disputed presidential election run-off. The body of a young man aged around 20 with a gunshot wound to the head was seen by journalists in the offices of the opposition CDC headquarters, outside which protestors clashed with police. (ISSOUF SANOGO/AFP/Getty Images)
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JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — Rioting erupted in Monrovia on Monday during an opposition rally held on the eve of Liberia's presidential run-off election, which incumbent Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is expected to win. 

BBC News reported that a young man was shot and killed during the protest. 

Agence France-Presse reported that Liberian police exchanged gunfire with members of the opposition Congress for Democratic Change (CDC), and fired tear gas after stone-throwing broke out.

Thousands of CDC supporters had gathered outside their party headquarters in Monrovia, the capital, calling for voters to boycott Tuesday's run-off vote, the BBC said.

More from GlobalPost: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf slammed by Liberia election candidate

Winston Tubman, who came second in the first round of the presidential election last month, has pulled out of the run-off vote, alleging widespread vote-rigging. He had called for a "peaceful protest" on Monday.

Sirleaf, 72, who is running for a second term, won the first round just days after being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. But she failed to pass the 50 percent benchmark required for a  first-round victory.

Sirleaf was the first African woman to be democratically elected, defeating soccer star George Weah in 2005 elections. 

Tubman, a Harvard-educated lawyer, has slammed the Nobel committee for awarding Sirleaf the Nobel Peace Prize just days before the country headed to the polls, calling the move "provocative."

More from GlobalPost: Profile: Nobel Peace Prize winner Johnson Sirleaf runs for re-election

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/africa/111107/liberia-run-off-election-violence-cdc-opposition-protests

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