The Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction (MDR) is a political party in Liberia.
In 2010, former warlord, Nimba County Senator Prince Johnson founded the National Union for Democratic Progress (NUDP). [1] He contested the 2011 presidential election with the party. [2] Ahead of the 2014 Senate election, Johnson was expelled from the NUDP. [3] Johnson won re-election to the Senate as an independent. [4] By November 2015, Johnson had begun the task of founding a new political party, the MDR. [5]
The MDR was certified by the National Elections Commission in May 2016. [6] Senator Prince Johnson was initially the leader of the MDR. [7] Johnson contested the presidency with the party, alongside running mate Audrian R. Smith-Forbes, in the 2017 election. The MDR ticket won 8.2% of the vote. It came in fourth place, behind the Liberty Party. [8] Johnson supported Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) candidate George Weah in the subsequent run-off election. [9] Weah was ultimately elected president. [8]
In the 2017 House of Representatives election, the MDR ran 38 candidates. [10] Two were elected: Jeremiah Koung in the Nimba #1 district and Gunpue L. Kargon in the Nimba #4 district. [11] In the 2020 election, Rep. Koung was elected to the Senate under the MDR banner. [12]
By late 2022, Johnson withdrew his and the MDR's support for President Weah and the CDC. Johnson cited the lack of Nimba County representation in top appointed positions. [13] In December 2022, Johnson resigned as head of the MDR. [14] In an MDR convention on 22 December, Senator Koung was elected standard bearer. [15] As standard bearer, Koung continued Johnson's policy of opposing the CDC. [16] In May 2023, the MDR's National Executive Committee expelled three senior officials including Rep. Kargon and National MDR Vice Chairman for Governmental Affairs Wilfred Bangura for maintaining loyalty to the CDC. They violated the party's constitution, which prohibits loyalties to other parties. [17]
After disclosing his breaking away from the CDC, Johnson announced he was seeking collaboration with other opposition parties. [17] On 28 April 2023, former vice president and standard bearer of the Unity Party (UP), Joseph Boakai announced MDR Standard Bearer Koung as his running mate for his 2023 presidential run. [18] After the initial October election, neither Boakai nor incumbent President Weah received a majority of the vote, triggering a run-off election in November. [19] On 17 November 2023, after the run-off election, President Weah conceded the election, resulting in Boakai becoming president-elect and Koung becoming vice president-elect. [20]
In the 2023 legislative elections, MDR candidates won elections in four House districts in Nimba County: #3, #4, #6, and #8. [21] Johnson was re-elected in the Senate. [22]
After President Boakai's inauguration, there were fractures between him and Johnson in the following months. By March 2024, Johnson had been disappointed with Boakai's appointments, again claiming too little representation from Nimba County and the MDR. Vice President Koung has also reportedly exerted less influence over Boakai than Johnson expected. Boakai's calling for a war crime court, an idea opposed by Johnson, has been another friction point between the two. In response, Johnson began strategizing against Boakai and the UP in the 2024 by-elections. [23] In the 2024 Nimba County Senate election, Johnson backed Samuel Kogar, but the UP candidate, also backed by Vice President Koung, Nya D. Twayen Jr. was successful. [24] [25]
By November 2024, Koung had made clear he had become a full member of the UP before his selection as their running mate, distancing himself from the MDR. [26] Johnson died in November 2024. [27]
| Election | Candidate | Votes | % | Votes | % | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First round | Second round | |||||
| 2017 | Prince Johnson | 127,666 | 8.22 | - | - | Lost |
| Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 37,899 | 4.30 | 1 / 30 | New |  4th |
| 2023 | 128,437 | 7.09 | 1 / 30 | - | 3rd |
| Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 56,734 | 3.69 | 2 / 73 | New | 8th |
| 2023 | 50,408 | 2.77 | 4 / 73 | 2 | 5th |
Prince Yormie Johnson was a Liberian warlord and politician, who served as a senator for Nimba County from 2006 to 2024. Once a rebel leader, Johnson played a prominent role in the First Liberian Civil War.
The National Patriotic Party (NPP) is a political party in Liberia. It was formed in 1997 by members of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia following the end of the First Liberian Civil War.
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 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 in Buchanan, 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 is the current ruling party following the 2023 Liberian general election.
The National Union for Democratic Progress (NUDP) was a political party in Liberia.
The People's Unification Party (PUP), also known as the Native People's Party, is a political party in Liberia.
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, but was postponed after LP standard-bearer Cllr. Charles Brumskine, in third place, challenged the result in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court dismissed the challenge, which would have forced a re-run of the first round had it been successful, and the second round was held on 26 December. Weah emerged victorious with 60% of the vote.
The All Liberian Party (ALP) is a political party in Liberia.
Gbehzohngar Milton Findley is a Liberian politician and businessman. He is a former President Pro Tempore of the Liberian Senate and also the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the administration of President Weah until 28 July 2020.
General elections were held in Liberia on 10 October 2023 to elect the President, House of Representatives and half of the Senate. Incumbent president George Weah was eligible for a second term. No candidate won a majority in the first round, with Weah narrowly placing first over opposition leader Joseph Boakai, which meant both advanced to a runoff held on 14 November 2023. Boakai defeated Weah by just over one percentage point in the closest runoff in Liberia's history, and Weah conceded the election peacefully.
Events in the year 2023 in Liberia.
Jeremiah Kpan Koung is a Liberian politician who is the 31st and current vice president of Liberia. He served in the House of Representatives of Liberia from 2012 to 2020, and was elected to the Senate of Liberia in 2020. He became the standard bearer of the Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction in 2022. In 2023, after Koung had become a member of the Unity Party, Joseph Boakai selected Koung as his running mate during his presidential run.
Gunpue L. Kargon is a Liberian politician.
The Liberia Restoration Party (LRP) is a political party in Liberia.
Events in the year 2024 in Liberia.
The Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) was a political alliance in Liberia. The alliance was originally formed in 2018 by four opposition political parties: the All Liberian Party (ALP), the Unity Party (UP), the Alternative National Congress (ANC), and the Liberty Party (LP). It was certified by the National Elections Commission (NEC) in 2020. By February 2022, the ALP and UP had withdrawn the alliance. By March 2022, a large faction of the LP had left as well. In April 2024, the CPP had officially dissolved.
The Victory for Change Party (VCP) is a political party in Liberia. It is a part of the Rainbow Alliance.
The 2024 Liberian by-elections were held on April 23, 2024. The by-elections were the result of two vacancies: one in the Senate in Nimba County, the other in the House of Representatives, in Grand Gedeh County's 1st district.
Johnson Naagon Gwaikolo was a Liberian politician.
