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This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Liberia |
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Executive |
Judiciary |
General elections were held in Liberia on 10 October 2017 to elect the President and House of Representatives. No candidate won a majority in the first round of the presidential vote, so the top two finishers — CDC standard-bearer Amb. George Weah and UP standard-bearer Vice President Joseph Boakai — competed in a run-off on 26 December. The second round was originally scheduled for 7 November, [1] but was postponed after LP standard-bearer Cllr. Charles Brumskine, in third place, challenged the result in the Supreme Court. [2] The Supreme Court dismissed the challenge, which would have forced a re-run of the first round had it been successful, [3] and the second round was held on 26 December. Weah emerged victorious with just over 60% of the vote. [4]
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.
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.
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.
The elections were overseen by the National Elections Commission (NEC) and were the first elections to be run entirely by the Government of Liberia and security forces since the conclusion of the civil wars in 2003. [5]
The National Elections Commission (NEC) of the Republic of Liberia is an autonomous agency in Liberia that supervises the national elections of Liberia.
The Second Liberian Civil War began in 1999 when a rebel group backed by the government of neighbouring Guinea, the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), emerged in northern Liberia. In early 2003, a second rebel group, the Movement for Democracy in Liberia, emerged in the south, and by June–July 2003, Charles Taylor's government controlled only a third of the country.
The President is elected using the two-round system, [6] whilst the 73 members of the House of Representatives are elected by first-past-the-post voting in single-member constituencies. [7]
The two-round system is a voting method used to elect a single winner, where the voter casts a single vote for their chosen candidate. However, if no candidate receives the required number of votes, then those candidates having less than a certain proportion of the votes, or all but the two candidates receiving the most votes, are eliminated, and a second round of voting is held.
Incumbent President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, in office since 2006, was constitutionally barred from running for a third term; the election was therefore to choose her successor. [8]
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.
Joseph Nyumah Boakai Sr. is a Liberian politician who served as Vice President of Liberia from 2006 to 2018, serving under President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Previously he was Minister of Agriculture from 1983 to 1985.
Charles Walker Brumskine is a Liberian politician and attorney. He is the leader of the Liberty Party and came third in the 2005 presidential election. He challenged incumbent Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf for the Presidency in 2011. He is also the senior partner of Brumskine & Associates, a leading Liberian law firm.
MacDella Cooper is a Liberian philanthropist and founder of the MacDella Cooper Foundation, an organization dedicated to improving the lives of children and women in Liberia. In October 2016, Cooper announced her intention to run for the Presidency of Liberia in the 2017 Liberian National Elections, but was eliminated in the first round with 0.7% of the vote.
Pollster | Date | Sample size | Boakai Unity | Weah CDC | Johnson FDUP | Urey All Liberian | Brumskine Liberty | Cooper ULD | Cummings ANC | Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberia Holding Consortium | May 2017 | 275 | 29.45% | 21.18% | N/A | 11.26% | 16% | 0.72% | 9.45% | N/A |
Liberia Holding Consortium | June 2017 | 484 | 36.36% | 18.38% | 3.92% | 4.75% | 13.22% | 0.82% | 7.02% | 13.01% |
Liberia Holding Consortium | August 2017 | 763 | 33.81% | 21.1% | 2.88% | 2.49% | 12.45% | N/A | 5.63% | 13.63% |
International Political Polls | August 2017 | 1,224 | 21.74% | 24.73% | 8.72% | 6.38% | 23.49% | N/A | 9.55% | N/A |
The European Union Electoral Observer Mission (EU EOM)'s preliminary statement, issued on 12 October 2017, acknowledged generally peaceful polling. However, "The EU EOM has directly observed several instances of public officials engaged in campaigning that further hampered equality among contestants. The mission has received claims about the uneven use of state resources and access to public spaces working to the advantage of the incumbent. The mission's direct observation indicates a high level of monetisation of the campaign, where a culture of in-kind and financial hand-outs to communities prevails." [15]
Candidate | Party | First round | Second round | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Votes | % | Votes | % | ||
George Weah | Coalition for Democratic Change | 596,037 | 38.4 | 732,185 | 61.5 |
Joseph Boakai | Unity Party | 446,716 | 28.8 | 457,579 | 38.5 |
Charles Brumskine | Liberty Party | 149,495 | 9.6 | ||
Prince Johnson | Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction | 127,666 | 8.2 | ||
Alexander B. Cummings | Alternative National Congress | 112,067 | 7.2 | ||
Benoni Urey | All Liberian Party | 24,246 | 1.6 | ||
Joseph Mills Jones | Movement for Economic Empowerment | 12,854 | 0.8 | ||
MacDella Cooper | Liberia Restoration Party | 11,645 | 0.7 | ||
Henry Fahnbulleh | Liberian People's Party | 11,560 | 0.7 | ||
Oscar Cooper | Independent | 10,381 | 0.7 | ||
MacDonald Wento | United People's Party | 8,968 | 0.6 | ||
Simeon Freeman | Movement for Progressive Change | 6,682 | 0.4 | ||
Isaac Wiles | Democratic Justice Party | 6,379 | 0.4 | ||
Aloysius Kpadeh | Independent | 5,922 | 0.4 | ||
Kennedy Sandy | Liberia Transformation Party | 5,343 | 0.3 | ||
George Dweh | Redemption Democratic Congress | 4,935 | 0.3 | ||
William Tuider | New Liberia Party | 4,920 | 0.3 | ||
Jeremiah Whapoe | Vision for Liberia Transformation | 3,946 | 0.3 | ||
Yarkpajuwur Mator | Independent | 1,940 | 0.1 | ||
Wendell McIntosh | Change Democratic Action | 1,646 | 0.1 | ||
Invalid/blank votes | 88,574 | – | 28,360 | – | |
Total | 1,641,922 | 100 | 1,218,124 | 100 | |
Registered voters/turnout | 2,183,629 | 75.2 | |||
Source: NEC, NEC |
Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– |
---|---|---|---|---|
Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC–NPP–LPDP) | 239,754 | 15.57 | 21 | +7 |
Unity Party | 220,508 | 14.32 | 20 | −4 |
Liberty Party | 131,980 | 8.57 | 3 | −4 |
Alternative National Congress | 93,475 | 6.07 | 0 | New |
People's Unification Party | 90,421 | 5.87 | 5 | New |
All Liberian Party | 77,013 | 5.00 | 3 | New |
Movement for Economic Empowerment | 59,268 | 3.85 | 1 | New |
Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction | 56,734 | 3.69 | 2 | New |
Coalition for Liberia's Progress | 50,732 | 3.30 | 0 | New |
Liberia Transformation Party | 49,621 | 3.22 | 1 | 0 |
United People's Party | 47,357 | 3.08 | 1 | New |
Victory for Change Party | 28,385 | 1.84 | 1 | +1 |
Liberian People's Party | 24,287 | 1.58 | 1 | New |
Vision for Liberia Transformation | 21,324 | 1.39 | 0 | New |
Grassroot Democratic Party of Liberia | 20,588 | 1.34 | 0 | 0 |
Liberia National Union | 20,227 | 1.31 | 1 | +1 |
Movement for Progressive Change | 19,980 | 1.30 | 0 | −2 |
True Whig Party | 14,723 | 0.96 | 0 | New |
Liberia Restoration Party | 11,690 | 0.76 | 0 | New |
Democratic Justice Party | 7,415 | 0.48 | 0 | New |
Change Democratic Action | 7,166 | 0.47 | 0 | New |
Redemption Democratic Congress | 5,731 | 0.37 | 0 | New |
Liberians for Prosperity | 628 | 0.04 | 0 | New |
New Liberia Party | 494 | 0.03 | 0 | New |
Independents | 240,001 | 15.59 | 13 | −2 |
Invalid/blank votes | 83,427 | – | – | – |
Total | 1,622,929 | 100 | 73 | 0 |
Registered voters/turnout | – | – | ||
Source: NEC |
Politics of Liberia takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic modeled on the government of the United States, whereby the President is the head of state and head of government; unlike the United States, however, Liberia is a unitary state as opposed to a federation and has a pluriform multi-party system rather than the two-party system that characterizes US politics. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of the legislature.
George Tawlon Manneh Oppong Ousman Weah is a Liberian politician and former professional football player currently serving as the 25th President of Liberia, in office since 2018. Prior to his election to the presidency, Weah served as Senator from Montserrado County. During his football career, he played as a striker. His prolific 18-year professional playing career ended in 2003.
Elections in Liberia occur solely at the national level. The head of state, the President of Liberia, is elected to a six-year term in a two-round system, in which a run-off between the two candidates with the highest number of votes is held should no single candidate earn a majority of the vote in the first round. The Legislature has two elected chambers.
The 2005 Liberian general election was held on 11 October 2005, with a runoff election for the presidency held on 8 November of that year. The presidency, as well as all seats in the House of Representatives and Senate were up for election. The election marked the end of the political transition following Liberia's second civil war and had been stipulated in the Accra Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2003. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former World Bank employee and Liberian finance minister, won the presidential contest and became the first democratically elected female African head of state in January 2006.
The Unity Party (UP) is a political party in Liberia that was started in 1984 by Edward B. Kesselly, also its first standard bearer. Officially founded at Buchanan in Grand Bassa County, the party was established on 27 July 1985. The Unity Party participated in the first elections after the 1980 coup, running against President Samuel Doe in October 1985. The party has remained active in Liberian politics since and was, until 2017, the ruling party.
Congress for Democratic Change is a Liberian political party formed by supporters of George Weah's 2005 presidential campaign.
Togba-Nah Tipoteh is an economist, educator and politician, having been a presidential candidate in three elections. For more than three decades, he has been actively involved with democratic activities in promotion of human rights, liberties, constitutional rule and growth with development in Liberia and throughout Africa. He is President of the Movement for Justice in Africa (MOJA); was founding Chairman of the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP), an alliance of Liberian political parties; was founder and Director-General of Susukuu Incorporated, Liberia's oldest non-governmental development organization, which was credited by the West Africa Peacekeeping Force (ECOMOG) as helping to disarm over 10,000 combatants and child soldiers in Liberia during the 1997 disarmament program through a school for gun program; and was former Chairman of the Interest Groups of Liberia, a consortium of 32 national organizations with a collective membership of well over one million persons. He has worked in international development in the United States, the Netherlands, Mozambique, Ghana, South Africa and other countries, as well as for the United Nations system: Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), International Monetary Fund (IMF), African Economic Community (ECA) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), among others.
Joseph Korto is a Liberian politician and member of the Liberia Equal Rights Party (LERP). Joseph Korto was born in Barpa, Nimba County, Liberia. He was Minister of Education in Liberia from 2006-2010 and was replaced by E. Othello Gongar, former Minister of Education during the regime of late president Samuel Kanyon Doe. He is also the Executive Director of the Liberian Development Foundation.
A new civil war began in 1999 when a rebel group backed by the government of neighboring Guinea, the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), emerged in northern Liberia. By the spring of 2001, they were posing a major threat to the Taylor government. Liberia was now engaged in a complex three-way conflict with Sierra Leone and the Guinea Republic. By the beginning of 2002, both of these countries were supporting the latest addition to the lexicon of Liberian guerrilla outfits – Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), while Taylor was supporting various opposition factions in both countries. By supporting Sierra Leonean rebels, Taylor also drew the enmity of the British and Americans.
The 2011 Liberian general election was held on 11 October 2011, with a presidential runoff election held on 8 November 2011. The presidency, as well as all seats in the House of Representatives and half of the seats in the Senate, were up for election. The election was overseen by the National Elections Commission (NEC).
A referendum to amend the Constitution of Liberia was held on 23 August 2011. Voters chose whether to ratify four amendments regarding judge tenure, elections scheduling, presidential candidate requirements and the electoral system. The National Elections Commission of Liberia (NEC) oversaw the referendum.
Senate elections were held in Liberia on 20 December 2014, with half the seats in the Senate up for election.
Events in the year 2017 in Liberia.
Events in the year 2018 in Liberia.
Gbehzohngar Milton Findley is a Liberian Cabinet-Level government official, former President Pro Tempore of the Liberian Senate and a business executive. Findley is the current Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Liberia in the administration of President George Weah. He is the owner of a coffee and cocoa bean farm and produce packing company in Liberia which exports to Europe. Findley received primary education in Liberia and advanced degrees at Lund University in Sweden and Franklin University in the United States.