U.N. and Liberian officials said Friday the West African country's is fully prepared for next week's runoff presidential election pitting a former football star against a former World Bank economist, reported dpa. The chief of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), Alan Doss, and the national election chief, Francess Johnson Morris, told reporters they will ensure elections are free and fair. Liberians will go to the polls November 8 to choose between football legend George Manneh Weah and the Harvard educated Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who is seeking to become the country's first female president. The election aims to end years of strife in Liberia. Doss said UNMIL and Liberian police began deploying troops and police officers Thursday throughout the country to secure polling sites. The peace keeping mission will support with logistics and communication to ensure polls are held peacefully, he said. "The quick reaction force is on full alert," Doss said. "UNMIL will deal robustly with any attempt to disrupt the peace before or after the elections." --More 0018 Local Time 2118 GMT
