With nearly two-thirds of Tuesday's votes reported, former soccer star George Weah has stretched his lead, gaining 32.2 percent of the presidential ballots counted so far with indications of a possible run-off, Ghana News Agency reported on Sunday.

Speaking at a press briefing on Saturday, Chairman of the National Elections Commission (NEC) Frances Johnson Morris said Weah of the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) obtained 195,293 votes of a cumulative 628,851 ballots counted so far. He is followed by the Unity Party's Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf at 18.6 percent with 112,618 votes.

Charles Brumskine of the Liberty Party is at 10.6 percent with 64,226 votes, followed by Varney Sherman of the Coalition for Transformation of Liberia who obtained 56,862 representing 9.4 percent, while Winston Tubman of the National Democratic Party of Liberia polled 48,448 votes or eight percent. Total average turnout recorded from the 1,869 polling places was 74 percent, while total invalid votes so far were 22,586.

There were 3,070 polling places nationwide. The NEC has up to October 26 to declare the results which have so far indicated a high possibility of a second round of voting in the second week ofNovember, probably between Weah and Mrs. Sirleaf.

Weah's rise from a Monrovia slum to athletic stardom has captivated much of Liberia's youth -- including many among the 100,000 demobilized fighters.

However, his critics said he has neitherthe education nor the management experience to govern Liberia's three million people.

Mrs. Sirleaf, on the other hand is one of Liberia's most experienced economists and administrators. She has worked for the World Bank and the United Nations Development Program and has heldseveral Liberian cabinet posts.

Source: Xinhua