Liberia elections, 2005

2005 Liberian general election

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Presidential election

11 October 2005 (first round) 8 November 2005 (second round)

Nominee Ellen Johnson Sirleaf George Weah Party UP CDC Running mate Joseph Boakai Rudolph Johnson Popular vote 478,526 327,046 Percentage 59.40% 40.60%

First round results by county Second round results by county

President before election Gyude Bryant LAP Elected President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf UP

General elections were held in Liberia on 11 October 2005, with a runoff election for the presidency held on 8 November. The presidency and all seats in the House of Representatives and Senate were up for election. The elections were the first held since 1997 and marked the end of the political transition following the second civil war, having been stipulated in the Accra Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2004. 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.

Background

Frances Johnson-Morris, the chairwoman of the National Elections Commission (NEC), announced the October 11 date on February 7, 2005.^[1]

Elections were scheduled for all 64 seats in the House of Representatives, with each of Liberia's 15 counties having at least two seats and the remaining seats allotted proportionally based on voter registration.^[2] The Senate had 30 seats up for elections, with two from each county.

Presidential candidates

Prior to the election, former football star George Weah was considered by many to be the favorite, due at least partially to widespread dissatisfaction with Liberia's politicians. Weah, who had been the subject of a petition published in September 2004 urging him to run,^[3] announced his candidacy in mid-November 2004 and received a hero's welcome when he arrived in Monrovia later in the month.^[4] Weah won the first round of voting but lost in the November 8, 2005 run-off. He initially filed formal fraud charges, but subsequently dropped his allegations, citing the interests of peace.

Excluded candidates

The chairman of the transitional government, Gyude Bryant, and other members of the transitional government did not run, according to the terms of the peace deal.^{[citation needed]}

On August 13, the election commission published a list of 22 presidential candidates who were cleared to run; six candidates were rejected, but Weah was cleared to stand despite complaints that he had adopted French citizenship. The Senate seats were contested by 206 candidates and the seats in the lower house were contested by 503 candidates. [1] Campaigning for the elections began on August 15.

In late September, the Supreme Court ruled that two excluded presidential candidates, Marcus Jones and Cornelius Hunter, and an excluded legislative candidate could register to run; this ruling created the possibility that the elections would have to be postponed in order to reprint ballot papers. However, these candidates later withdrew their bids, so the elections went ahead on schedule on October 11.^[5]

Results

President

Voting took place in two rounds 11 October and 8 November. Twenty-two people contested the presidential race in the first round. George Weah, former soccer star and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former World Bank employee and finance minister finished first and second, respectively and advanced to the second round run-off, which Johnson-Sirleaf won 59%-41%, according to the National Electoral Commission.

Weah claimed election fraud, stating elections officials were stuffing ballot boxes in Johnson-Sirleaf's favor. Most elections observers, including those from the United Nations, the European Union and the Economic Community of West African States, say that the election was clean and transparent. The Carter Center observed "minor irregularities" but no major problems. Johnson-Sirleaf reminded the press that Weah has 72 hours to bring evidence of wrongdoing to her campaign according to Liberian law, calling the accusations "lies" and stating that Weah's supporters "just don't want a woman to be President in Africa."^[6]

On December 22, 2005, Weah withdrew his protests, and in January, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf became the first democratically elected female Head of State in the history of the African Continent, and the first native female African head of state since Empress Zauditu, who ruled Ethiopia from 1916 to 1930.

House of Representatives

Senate

As no Senate existed prior to the elections, each voter was eligible to cast two ballots for different candidates. The two candidates with the highest number of votes in each county were elected. The candidate with the highest share of votes became the senior senator for the county, elected to a nine-year term. The candidate with the second-highest share became the junior senator, elected to a six-year term. This method was chosen in order to reintroduce a staggered electoral system.

References

External links

Wikinews has related news:

• Liberians choose their president

General information

• National Elections Commission
• Liberia 2005: The Road to Democracy
• United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) Electoral Division
• United Liberia - Latest News
• Press Freedom Conditions in Liberia - IFEX
• All Africa, Liberia news

Candidates

• Nat Barnes for President
• Charles Brumskine Campaign Site
• Samuel Raymond Divine Campaign Site
• John Morlu for President
• Varney Sherman for President
• Dr. Togba-Nah Tipoteh for President
• Winston Tubman Campaign Site
• George Weah Campaign Site

Articles

• I am woman, hear my roar Katharine Houreld on the participation of women in the 2005 Liberian election.