Liberian general election, 1997

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Liberian presidential election, 1997
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  President Charles Taylor (cropped).png Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, April 2010.jpg
Nominee Charles Taylor Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
Party National Patriotic Unity
Popular vote 468,443 59,557
Percentage 75.33% 9.58%
President before election

Ruth Perry
Independent

Elected President

Charles Taylor
National Patriotic

Liberia
Coat of arms of Liberia.svg
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Liberia

The 1997 Liberian general election was held on 19 July 1997 as part of the 1996 peace agreement ending the First Liberian Civil War. The presidency, as well as all seats in the House of Representatives and the Senate were up for election. Voter turnout was around 89%. [1] Former rebel leader Charles Taylor and his National Patriotic Party (NPP) won the election by a substantial margin; Taylor won 75.3% of the vote in the presidential election, whilst the NPP won the same number of votes in the parliamentary election. [2] Taylor was inaugurated as president on 2 August 1997.

The First Liberian Civil War was an internal conflict in Liberia from 1989 until 1997. The conflict killed about 250,000 people and eventually led to the involvement of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and of the United Nations. The peace did not last long, and in 1999 the Second Liberian Civil War broke out.

President of Liberia Wikimedia list article

The President of the Republic of Liberia is the head of state and government of Liberia. The president serves as the leader of the executive branch and as commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Liberia.

House of Representatives of Liberia Lower house of Liberian legislature

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.

Contents

Taylor campaigned on the slogan "He killed my ma, he killed my pa, but I will vote for him." [3] The elections were overseen by the United Nations' peacekeeping mission, United Nations Observer Mission in Liberia, along with a contingent from the Economic Community of West African States. Taylor won the election in a landslide, garnering 75 percent of the vote. Taylor's closest competitor, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, collected only 10 percent of the vote.

United Nations Observer Mission in Liberia organization

The United Nations Observer Mission in Liberia (UNOMIL) was a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Liberia. It was established in Resolution 866 (1993) and headquartered in the capital Monrovia.

Economic Community of West African States intergovernmental economic unnion

The Economic Community of West African States, also known as ECOWAS, is a regional economic union of fifteen countries located in West Africa. Collectively, these countries comprise an area of 5,114,162 km2 (1,974,589 sq mi), and in 2015 had an estimated population of over 349 million.

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Liberian politician and 24th president of Liberia

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is a Liberian politician who served as the 24th President of Liberia from 2006 to 2018. Sirleaf was the first elected female head of state in Africa.

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. [4] The American Colonization Society was founded in 1816 in Washington, DC for this purpose, by a group of prominent politicians and slaveholders. [5] 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. [6]

United States Federal republic in North America

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.

American Colonization Society

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 republic in West Africa

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. [7] 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. [7]

Legislature of Liberia

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.

Senate of Liberia upper house of the bicameral legislative branch of Liberia

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.

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. [1]

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 till 1980. Master Sergeant Samuel Doe lead a group of conspirators and effected the coup on 12 April 1980. 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. [8] 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 the nation went for elections in 1980. [9] [10] 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. [1] 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. [10]

True Whig Party

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.

Human rights Inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled

Human rights are "the basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled" Examples of rights and freedoms which are often thought of as human rights include civil and political rights, such as the right to life, liberty, and property, freedom of expression, pursuit of happiness and equality before the law; and social, cultural and economic rights, including the right to participate in science and culture, the right to work, and the right to education.

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Political corruption is the use of powers by government officials or their network contacts for illegitimate private gain. An illegal act by an officeholder constitutes political corruption only if the act is directly related to their official duties, is done under color of law or involves trading in influence.

During the civil war between 1990 and 1997, 2.5 million people died accounting for 10 per cent of pre-war population, one-third were left as refugees and almost most of the population migrated at some point. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) lead initiatives to bring peace to the nation and a ECOWAS Cease fire monitoring committee was overseeing the agreements. National Patriotic Front of Liberia leader, Charles Taylor was leading the war. There were various treaties signed to bring peace to Liberia, namely, the Cotonou Accord on 25 July 1993, the Akosombo Agreement on 12 August 1994, and its Accra Clarification. Abuja Agreement, one of the last thirteen peace agreement was signed during 19 August 1995 in Nigeria. Taylor agreed to dissolve NPFL and form a civil party later, which went on to be the National Patriotic Party. [11]

Elections

The Election Commission faced challenges in educating the public about the voting and secrecy of voting. An estimated 70 to 90 per cent of the population were illiterate, making it even more difficult to educate them. It was also a transition time when Liberia, though was democratic for 150 years, was just moving to a multi party democracy. [12] Though it was agreed to conduct elections immediately, lot of challenges were faced in terms of logistics as most of the infrastructure of Liberia was lost in the civil war. On 14 February 1997, it was announced that elections would be held on 30 May 1997, but it was postponed. There were 16 parties who participated in the elections with Taylor from NPP and Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf from Unity Party leading the Presidential race. [1] The elections were finally held on 19 July 1997 and there was a large voter turn around of 75 per cent. The elections were overseen by the United Nations' peacekeeping mission, United Nations Observer Mission in Liberia, along with a contingent from the Economic Community of West African States. [13]

Results

The final results were announced in August, which gave an overwhelming majority to NPP both in the House and Senate. Taylor won the election in a landslide, garnering 75 percent of the vote. Taylor's closest competitor, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, collected only 10 percent of the vote. [11] Taylor was sworn-in as the President of Liberia on 3 August and his cabinet was announced in the following weeks. [1]

Presidential election

CandidatePartyNumber of Votes% of Votes
Charles Taylor National Patriotic Party (NPP)468,44375.33%
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Unity Party (UP)59,5579.58%
Alhaji G.V. Kromah All Liberia Coalition Party (ALCOP)25,0594.02%
Cletus Wotorson Alliance of Political Parties (ALLIANCE)15,9692.57%
Gabriel Baccus Matthews United People's Party (UPP)15,6042.51%
Togba-Nah Tipoteh Liberian People's Party (LPP)10,0101.61%
George Boley National Democratic Party of Liberia (NDPL)7,8431.26%
Harry Moniba Liberia National Union (LINU)6,7081.08%
George T. Washington People's Democratic Party of Liberia (PDPL)3,4970.56
Martin Sheriff National Reformation Party (NRP)2,9650.48
Chea Cheapoo Progressive People's Party (PPP)2,1420.34
Henry Fahnbulleh Reformation Alliance Party (RAP)2,0670.33
Fayah Gbollie Free Democratic Party (FDP)2,016 0.32
Total621,880100

Note: The Alliance of Political Parties was a coalition of the Liberian Action Party (LAP) and Liberia Unification Party (LUP). [11]

Legislative results

Due to the system of proportional representation used in the election, legislative seats were distributed to parties on the basis of percentage of votes won by their respective presidential candidates. [1]

PartyVotes%Seats
Senate [1] House [14]
National Patriotic Party (NPP)468,44375.332149
Unity Party (UP)59,5579.5737
All Liberia Coalition Party (ALCOP)25,0594.0323
Alliance of Political Parties (ALLIANCE)15,9692.5702
United People's Party (UPP)15,6042.5102
Liberian People's Party (LPP)10,0101.6101
National Democratic Party of Liberia 7,8431.300
Liberian National Union 6,7031.100
People's Democratic Party of Liberia 3,4970.600
National Reformation Party 2,9650.500
Progressive People's Party 2,1420.300
Reformation Alliance Party 2,0670.300
Free Democratic Party 2,0160.300
Total621,8801002664
Source: Nohlen et al.

Note: The Alliance of Political Parties was a coalition of the Liberian Action Party (LAP) and Liberia Unification Party (LUP). [11]

See also

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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

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Senate Election results of Liberia, 1997". Interparliamentary Union for Democracy for everyone. 1997. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  2. ↑ Nohlen, D, Krennerich, M & Thibaut, B (1999) Elections in Africa: A data handbook, pp515-518 ISBN   0-19-829645-2
  3. ↑ Left, Sarah (2003-08-04). "War in Liberia". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2008-01-18.
  4. ↑ "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.
  5. ↑ 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
  6. ↑ Rodriguez, Junius P. (2015). Encyclopedia of Emancipation and Abolition in the Transatlantic World. Routledge. p. 1128. ISBN   9781317471790.
  7. 1 2 "About The Republic Of Liberia – Politics". Ministry of Information, Government of Liberia. 2014. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  8. ↑ Okolo, Julius Emeka (1981). "Liberia: The Military Coup and Its Aftermath". The World Today. Royal Institute of International Affairs. 4 (4): 149–157. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  9. ↑ Gifford, Paul (1993). Christianity and Politics in Doe's Liberia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 22.
  10. 1 2 Roberts, Brad (1990). The New Democracies: Global Change and U.S. Policy. MIT Press. p. 188. ISBN   9780262680622.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Lyons, Terrence (1998). "Peace and Election in Liberia". In Kumar, Krishna. Postconflict Elections, Democratization, and International Assistance. Lynne Rienner Publishers. p. 177. ISBN   9781555877781.
  12. ↑ Lawrence, Ted (1999). "Illiteracy poses multiple challenges in Liberia". Elections Today. International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES). 8 (2): 10. ISSN   1073-6719 . Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  13. ↑ "UNOMIL". Information Technology Section/Department of Public Information. 2001. Retrieved 18 January 2008.
  14. ↑ "Election results of Liberia, 1997". Interparliamentary Union for Democracy for everyone. 1997. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
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