Liberian general election, 1985

Last updated April 17, 2019

General elections were held in Liberia on 15 October 1985.^[1] These were the first elections since the 12 April 1980 military coup that brought Samuel Doe to power.^[2] During 1984, a new draft Constitutional referendum was approved, which allowed a 58 member civilian and military combined Interim National Assembly, headed by President Samuel Doe. The ban on political parties were lifted and four parties, namely, the President's National Democratic Party of Liberia, Liberian Action Party, Unity Party and Liberia Unification Party were in fray.

Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean to its south-southwest. It covers an area of 111,369 square kilometers (43,000 sq mi) and has a population of around 4,700,000 people. English is the official language and over 20 indigenous languages are spoken, representing the numerous ethnic groups who make up more than 95% of the population. The country's capital and largest city is Monrovia.

Samuel Kanyon Doe was a Liberian politician who served as the Liberian leader from 1980 to 1990, first as a military leader and later as a politician. Then Master Sergeant Doe served as chairman of the People's Redemption Council and de facto head of state after staging a violent coup d'etat in 1980; he killed President William R. Tolbert, Jr., and executed much of the True Whig Party leadership. Samuel Doe in turn was murdered by his conqueror, Prince Johnson, one time ally of Charles Taylor, in an internationally televised display.

The National Democratic Party of Liberia (NDPL) is a political party in Liberia.

The polls were marred by allegations of widespread fraud and rigging. Official results showed that Samuel Doe won the presidential election with 50.9% of the vote, just enough to avoid a runoff. His National Democratic Party of Liberia won large majorities in both houses of the Legislature. Many independent observers believed that the Liberian Action Party's Jackson Doe, who officially finished second, was the actual winner. It was later revealed that Samuel Doe had the ballots counted in a secret location by his handpicked staff. The period after the elections saw increased human rights abuses, corruption, and ethnic tensions, ultimately leading to the start of the First Liberian Civil War in 1989 and Doe's overthrow and murder in 1990.

The Legislature of Liberia is the bicameral legislature of the government of Liberia. It consists of a Senate – the upper house, and a House of Representatives – the lower house, modeled after the United States Congress. Sessions are held at the Capitol Building in Monrovia. Legislature of Liberia is considered one of the three branches of government based on the Article III of the Constitution of Liberia that stipulates all three branches ought to be equal and coordinated based on the Principle of checks and balances.

The Liberian Action Party was a political party in Liberia.

Jackson Fiah Doe was a Liberian politician in the late twentieth century.

History

In the United States, there was a movement to resettle free-born blacks and freed slaves who faced legislated limits, in Africa and predominantly in Liberia, believing blacks would face better chances for freedom in Africa than in the U.S.^[3] The American Colonization Society was founded in 1816 in Washington, DC for this purpose, by a group of prominent politicians and slaveholders.^[4] During the mid 19th century, there were continuous clashes between Liberian government and British merchants from Sierra Leone. The merchants were of the argument that the country had no rights to impose taxes. The elites in the colony wanted to declare sovereignty to overcome the issue, resulting in the declaration. During the 1846 referendum, there was a voting on declaration of independence to the nation. On 26 July 1847, the nation declared itself independent based on the popular voting and thus became the first democratic country in Africa. The country was spotted with frequent military coups and political disturbances.^[5]

The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States or America, is a country composed of 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles, the United States is the world's third or fourth largest country by total area and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe's 3.9 million square miles. With a population of over 327 million people, the U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the largest city by population is New York City. Forty-eight states and the capital's federal district are contiguous in North America between Canada and Mexico. The State of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east and across the Bering Strait from Russia to the west. The State of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U.S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, stretching across nine official time zones. The extremely diverse geography, climate, and wildlife of the United States make it one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries.

The Society for the Colonization of Free People of Color of America, commonly known as the American Colonization Society (ACS), was a group established in 1816 by Robert Finley of New Jersey which supported the migration of free African Americans to the continent of Africa. The society in 1821–1822 helped to found a colony on the Pepper Coast of West Africa, as a place for free-born or manumitted American blacks. The ACS met with immediate and continuing objections from such African-Americans as James Forten and David Walker, who wished to remain in the land of their birth, saw colonization as a racist strategy for protecting slavery and purging the U.S. of its black citizens, and preferred to fight for equal rights at home. Colonizers were also met with resistance and attacks from those already living in and around the areas being colonized. There was some religious support and missionary efforts were part of the colonization. Disease was a major problem, with Liberian immigrants suffering the highest mortality rates in accurately recorded human history. Of the 4,571 emigrants who arrived in Liberia from 1820 to 1843, only 1,819 survived until 1843.

Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, informally Salone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It has a tropical climate, with a diverse environment ranging from savanna to rainforests. The country has a total area of 71,740 km² (27,699 sq mi) and a population of 7,075,641 as of the 2015 census. Sierra Leone is a constitutional republic with a directly elected president and a unicameral legislature. The country's capital and largest city is Freetown. Sierra Leone is made up of five administrative regions: the Northern Province, North West Province, Eastern Province, Southern Province and the Western Area. These regions are subdivided into sixteen districts.

Eligibility

The Legislature of Liberia was modeled based on the Legislature of United States. It is bicameral in nature with a Senate and the House of Representatives. There are 13 counties in the country and based on the population, each county is defined to have at least two members, while the total number of members to the house including the Speaker being 64. Each member represents an electoral district and elected to a six year term based on popular vote.^[6] There were 26 senators, two each for the 13 counties and they serve a nine year term (30 senators, 15 counties and nine years from 2011). Senators are also elected based on plurality of votes. The Vice-President is the head of the Senate and he also acts as President in his absence.^[6]

The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislative branch of Liberia, and together with the House of Representatives comprises the Legislature of Liberia. Each of the fifteen counties are equally represented by two senators, elected to serve staggered nine-year terms. The Senate meets at the Capitol Building in Monrovia.

The House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the bicameral legislative branch of Liberia, and together with the Senate comprises the Legislature of Liberia. The number of seats is fixed by law at 73, with each county being apportioned a number of seats based on its percentage of the national population. House members represent single-member districts within the counties drawn up by the National Elections Commission and serve six-year terms. The House meets at the Capitol Building in Monrovia.

To be eligible as a voter, one had to possess 18 years of age and registered on electoral rolls. Persons who are of foreign origin, insane and convicted in crime were not eligible. The eligibility criteria to be candidate of a political party in the House of Representatives was residence in the country for one year before the elections, a tax payer and should be 25 years of age. The eligibility criteria to be candidate of a political party in the Senate was residence in the country for one year continuously before the elections, tax payer and should be 30 years of age.^[7]

Background

True Whig Party, founded in 1869, was one of the oldest political parties in the world and the oldest in Africa. The party was in power from 1877. The Party had a majority of Americo-Liberians, who descended from the United States and formed less than one per cent of the total population of Liberia as per the census of 1962. President William Tubman ruled from 1947 until his death in 1971 and William Tolbert continued after it and won the 1975 elections. According to historians, Tolbert centralized the power and the reform movements failed to bring a solution to tribalism, economic backwardness and democracy. In the name of reforms, the salary of civil servants and government officials were terminated for a year. Tolbert also continued to suppress the opposition, leading to a coup. Master Sergeant, lead a group of conspirators and effected the coup on 12 April 1980. According to his accounts, the group wanted to arrest Tolbert and when he resisted, he was shot dead. A counter insurgent operation on 16 April was crushed effectively and Doe was in full control of the government. Doe's military People Redemption Council (PRC) invoked martial law and took control of all legislative and executive powers. There were a lot of executions, rampant corruption, increasing rate of employment and decreasing health conditions. PRC announced in the UN General council that elections would be possibly held by 1983. Doe also built his image internationally by having border issues fixed with neighbouring countries and also promised a fair trial to the family of Tolbert.^[2]

The True Whig Party (TWP), also known as the Liberian Whig Party (LWP), is the oldest political party in Liberia. Founded in 1869 by primarily Americo-Liberians, the party dominated Liberian politics from 1878 until 1980. The nation was virtually a one-party state, although opposition parties were never outlawed. Initially, its ideology was strongly influenced by that of the United States Whig Party.

Elections

After the military coup of 1980, it was the first elections to be held.^[2] During 1984, a new draft Constitutional referendum was approved, which allowed a 58 member civilian and military combined Interim National Assembly, headed by President Samuel Doe. The ban on political parties were lifted and four parties, namely, the President's National Democratic Party of Liberia, Liberian Action Party, Unity Party and Liberia Unification Party were in fray. The polling was largely peacefuly, but were marred by allegations of widespread fraud and rigging. Many independent observers believed that the Liberian Action Party's Jackson Doe, who officially finished second, was the actual winner. It was later revealed that Samuel Doe had the ballots counted in a secret location by his handpicked staff.^[8] Though there were no official mission from the United States to validate the fair conduct of the elections, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Chester A. Crocker acknowledged that there were widespread irregularities, but pointed out that the narrow margin of victory showed good amount of fair polling and the extended hours of voting proved effective in increasing the voter turnaround. He also pointed out that radio stations and newspapers provided fair coverage to all the four parties that competed.^[9] The election results were announced on 29 October, with NDPL leading both in the Presidential, Assembly and Senate. Doe was sworn-in as the President on 6 January and a civilian cabinet on 15 January.^[7] The period after the elections saw increased human rights abuses, corruption, and ethnic tensions, ultimately leading to the start of the First Liberian Civil War in 1989 and Doe's overthrow and murder in 1990.^[9]

Results

Presidential election

Summary of the 15 October 1985 Liberian presidential election results ^edit	Votes	%
Samuel Doe, National Democratic Party of Liberia	264,362	50.93
Jackson Doe, Liberian Action Party	137,270	26.45
Gabriel Kpolleh, Liberia Unification Party	59,965	11.55
Edward Kesselly, Unity Party	57,443	11.07
Total	519,040	100.00
Source: African Elections Database

Legislative election

Party	Votes	%	House seats^[7]	Senate seats^[10]
National Democratic Party of Liberia	264,364	50.9	51	22
Liberian Action Party	137,270	26.5	8	2
Unity Party	59,965	11.6	2	1
Liberia Unification Party	57,273	11.0	3	1
Total	518,872	100	64	26
Source: Nohlen et al.

Related Research Articles

Liberia is a country in West Africa which was founded, established, colonized, and controlled by citizens of the United States and ex-Caribbean slaves as a colony for former African American slaves and their free black descendants. It is one of only two sovereign countries in the world that were started by citizens and ex-Caribbean slaves of a political power as a colony for former slaves of the same political power, the other being Sierra Leone, established by Great Britain. Settlement of former slaves was organised by the American Colonization Society (ACS). The mortality rate of these settlers was the highest in accurately recorded human history. Of the 4,571 emigrants who arrived in Liberia from 1820 to 1843, only 1,819 survived until 1843.

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References

↑ Nohlen, D; Krennerich, M; Thibaut, B (1999). Elections in Africa: A data handbook. p. 512. ISBN 0-19-829645-2.
1 2 3 Okolo, Julius Emeka (1981). "Liberia: The Military Coup and Its Aftermath". The World Today. Royal Institute of International Affairs. 4 (4): 149–157. JSTOR 40395282.
↑ "Background on conflict in Liberia". Friends Committee on National Legislation. July 30, 2003. Archived from the original on 14 February 2007. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
↑ Maggie Montesinos Sale (1997). The Slumbering Volcano: American Slave Ship Revolts and the Production of Rebellious Masculinity, Duke University Press, 1997, p. 264. ISBN 0-8223-1992-6
↑ Rodriguez, Junius P. (2015). Encyclopedia of Emancipation and Abolition in the Transatlantic World. Routledge. p. 1128. ISBN 9781317471790.
1 2 "About The Republic Of Liberia – Politics". Ministry of Information, Government of Liberia. 2014. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
1 2 3 "Election results of Liberia, 1985" (PDF). Interparliamentary Union for Democracy for everyone. 1985. pp. 1–4. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
↑ Gifford, Paul (1993). Christianity and Politics in Doe's Liberia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 22.
1 2 Roberts, Brad (1990). The New Democracies: Global Change and U.S. Policy. MIT Press. p. 188. ISBN 9780262680622.
↑ "Senate Election results of Liberia, 1985" (PDF). Interparliamentary Union for Democracy for everyone. 1985. Retrieved 22 October 2016.

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[1] Nohlen, D; Krennerich, M; Thibaut, B (1999). Elections in Africa: A data handbook. p. 512. ISBN 0-19-829645-2.

[Okolo-2] 1 2 3 Okolo, Julius Emeka (1981). "Liberia: The Military Coup and Its Aftermath". The World Today. Royal Institute of International Affairs. 4 (4): 149–157. JSTOR 40395282.

[AFP-3] "Background on conflict in Liberia". Friends Committee on National Legislation. July 30, 2003. Archived from the original on 14 February 2007. Retrieved 29 October 2016.

[Sale-4] Maggie Montesinos Sale (1997). The Slumbering Volcano: American Slave Ship Revolts and the Production of Rebellious Masculinity, Duke University Press, 1997, p. 264. ISBN 0-8223-1992-6

[5] Rodriguez, Junius P. (2015). Encyclopedia of Emancipation and Abolition in the Transatlantic World. Routledge. p. 1128. ISBN 9781317471790.

[official-6] 1 2 "About The Republic Of Liberia – Politics". Ministry of Information, Government of Liberia. 2014. Retrieved 23 October 2016.

[ipu-7] 1 2 3 "Election results of Liberia, 1985" (PDF). Interparliamentary Union for Democracy for everyone. 1985. pp. 1–4. Retrieved 22 October 2016.

[8] Gifford, Paul (1993). Christianity and Politics in Doe's Liberia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 22.

[Roberts-9] 1 2 Roberts, Brad (1990). The New Democracies: Global Change and U.S. Policy. MIT Press. p. 188. ISBN 9780262680622.

[10] "Senate Election results of Liberia, 1985" (PDF). Interparliamentary Union for Democracy for everyone. 1985. Retrieved 22 October 2016.

v t e Elections and referendums in Liberia
Presidential elections	1847 1849 1851 1853 1855 1857 1859 1861 1863 1865 1867 1869 1871 1873 1875 1877 1879 1881 1883 1885 1887 1889 1891 1893 1895 1897 1899 1901 1903 1905 1907 1911 1915 1919 1923 1927 1931 1939 1943 1951 1955 1959 1963 1967 1971 1975 1985 1997 2005 2011 2017
Legislative elections	1840 1847 1849 1851 1853 1855 1857 1859 1861 1863 1865 1867 1869 1871 1873 1875 1877 1879 1881 1883 1885 1887 1889 1891 1893 1895 1897 1899 1901 1903 1905 1907 1911 1915 1919 1923 1927 1931 1935 1939 1943 1951 1955 1959 1963 1967 1971 1975 1985 1997 2005 2011 2014 2017
Referendums	1846 1847 1849 1861 1869 1870 1907 1927 1935 1943 1945 1946 1949 1955 1972 1975 1984 2011
See also: Elections and referendums in the Republic of Maryland