MONROVIA, Liberia, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- Riots on the eve of Liberia's presidential runoff left at least one person dead Monday and the opposition candidate pulled out of the race, officials said.
Melees broke out between Liberian police and rock-throwing opposition protesters in Monrovia, and former Justice Minister Winston Tubman withdrew from Tuesday's runoff, the BBC reported.
The British broadcaster said one young man had been shot in the head, and officials in Tubman's Congress for Democratic Change party said four people had died.
Justice Minister Christiana Tah could not confirm the number of casualties.
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Tah told the BBC security would be heightened for the election and an investigation would be conducted.
Tubman and the CDC allege vote-rigging in favor of President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. Her supporters and the election commission denied the claim.
In the the first round of voting, which election observers said was generally free and fair, Sirleaf, a Nobel Peace laureate and Africa's first elected female head of state, out-polled Tubman, 44 percent to 32 percent, shy of the majority required for victory, Voice of America reported. She was first elected after Liberia's first post-war election in 2005.
The riots came as thousands of CDC protesters outside the party's headquarters urged voters to boycott Tuesday's election.
Shooting and rock-throwing reportedly erupted after police, backed by U.N. forces, blocked a road to prevent the CDC activists from marching through the city.
The BBC said opposition activists were reported to have exchanged fire with police. However, police spokesman George Badue said officers had used tear gas but not live bullets.
Three or four other people who were injured told the BBC they had been shot.
Tubman's running mate, George Weah, denounced the shooting of "unarmed protesters" and called for a postponement of the elections.
The CDC's decision to pull out drew criticism from the United States, the European Union and the African Union.
Former warlord Prince Johnson, who placed third in the first round of voting, backed Sirleaf in the runoff.
