Liberia held free and fair elections for the first time in its history on October 11. About 1.35 million registered voters were called to elect both chambers of parliament and a new president, replacing transitional institutions set up two years ago. Neither of the two leading presidential candidates - former soccer star George Weah and veteran politician Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf - gained an absolute majority, so a runoff will be held on November 8. Democratic elections would have been impossible without the work of the currently sixteen-thousand-strong United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), which has restored public order after fourteen years of war. The election process was organized - very successfully and for the first time independently - by an externally assisted electoral commission. A welcome milestone has been passed, but the stabilization process is far from complete. If it is to continue successfully, the international community will have to remain committed and involved for several more years.
