Campaigning, due to wrap up on Sunday, infected the capital Monrovia, as small groups of supporters chasing trucks blaring music or handing out t-shirts took to the streets between thunder and bursts of rain from heavy black clouds.
On Friday, some 200,000 supporters of the main opposition Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) brought the city to a standstill, with leader Winston Tubman, 70, urging them not to be swayed by his rival's Peace Prize win.
"Now, many of you don?t know the significance of this prestigious award of honour but we can see nothing in the record about Ellen Sirleaf that tells us that she has been promoting peace," the Harvard-trained lawyer told the crowd.
Opposition parties have used the prize to shine the light on some of the more controversial aspects of Sirleaf's career, as she briefly supported warlord-turned-president Charles Taylor when he ousted dictator Samuel Doe.
She has defended her actions, saying she became a fierce opponent as soon as the atrocities of Taylor's war became apparent, but the stain on her reputation has been seized upon by angry opposition parties.
"What we know of her is that she brought war and that having now taken power, she hasn?t brought unity," Tubman said.
Tubman's crowd-pleasing running partner, football star George Weah, added: "Is it a Nobel Peace Prize for corruption? Whether or not a Nobel Peace Prize, on October 11, she is going to leave."
The Nobel Committee paid tribute to Sirleaf for her contribution "to securing peace in Liberia, to promoting economic and social development, and to strengthening the position of women".
Sirleaf, is campaigning under the slogan "Monkey still working, let baboon wait small" which is splayed across giant billboards in the capital.
In Liberian patois, this means she is the monkey, the clever creature in the tree (power) and the opposition needs to let her finish the job she started.
Another billboard reads: "When the plane isn't landed, you don't change the pilots", picturing the president in a pilot's uniform.
While feted abroad much like a female Nelson Mandela, Sirleaf has come under criticism at home and Liberians seem to be wondering whether the prestigious prize so close to the country's closely watched second post-war polls was merited.
"The Nobel Peace Prize is timely, it is worth mentioning this is Africa's first female leader, who has struggled, who has gone to jail, who has been an advocate for women's rights," said 55-year-old retiree Bob James.
Gbowee won the Nobel prize along with Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Yemen's Arab Spring activist Tawakkul Karman.
She is credited with leading women to defy feared warlords and push men toward peace in Liberia during one of Africa's bloodiest wars.
Many believe that without the group of women who would gather in Monrovia to pray and protest in white shirts, the conflict which left some 250,000 dead would not have ended as it did in 2003.
Their methods included refusing sex with their husbands until the violence ended.
Gbowee, now 39, was 17 when war first broke out in 1989 as warlord Charles Taylor led an uprising to topple president Samuel Doe. She was freshly out of high school and planning to study medicine.
The Nobel Committee on Friday hailed Gbowee for having "organised women across ethnic and religious dividing lines to bring an end to the long war in Liberia, and to ensure women's participation in elections".
Her campaign called for an immediate ceasefire, dialogue between government and rebels and the deployment of an intervention force at a time when a handful of peace agreements had failed.
"Part of the money will also be used to set up a centre where women victims of war will share their experiences with the rest of the world," she added.
The laureate said that she would head for Liberia on Sunday to vote in the October 11 polls and wished her countrymen a peaceful election.
Johnson Sirleaf, who is Africa's first woman president, is seeking re-election on Tuesday.
"I wish the people of Liberia a peaceful election. I know we will make it as a country and come out united and strong after the election."
"I am also going to Liberia to celebrate with my people and also let them know that women can achieve great honours in life when given the opportunity," said Gbowee.
She was received on arrival at the airport by members of her family and some of her workers who carried a banner that read "congratulations, Leymah Roberta Gbowee, Nobel peace prize winner 2011".
Decked out in a gown made in African fabric, she briefly cuddled her baby girl.
No Ghanaian government officials seemed to be present and no official welcome party was organised, said an AFP correspondent at the scene.
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