Liberian elections, 1997
Encyclopedia
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%.
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. Taylor was inaugurated as president on 2 August 1997.
Taylor campaigned on the slogan "He killed my ma, he killed my pa, but I will vote for him." 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 toughest competitor, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, collected only 10 percent of the vote. Taylor's victory has been widely attributed to the belief that he would resume the war if he lost.
Note: The Alliance of Political Parties was a coalition of the Liberian Action Party
(LAP) and Liberia Unification Party
(LUP).
used in the election, legislative seats were distributed to parties on the basis of percentage of votes won by their respective presidential candidates.
Note: The Alliance of Political Parties was a coalition of the Liberian Action Party
(LAP) and Liberia Unification Party
(LUP).
House of Representatives of Liberia
The House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the bicameral Liberian Legislature. Legislative elections took place on 11 October 2005, and the elected members took office in January 2006.-Candidate eligibility:...
and the Senate
Senate of Liberia
The Senate of Liberia is the upper house of the bicameral legislative branch of Liberia, and together with the House of Representatives comprises the Legislature of Liberia...
were up for election. Voter turnout was around 89%.
Former rebel leader Charles Taylor and his National Patriotic Party
National Patriotic Party
The National Patriotic Party 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....
(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. Taylor was inaugurated as president on 2 August 1997.
Taylor campaigned on the slogan "He killed my ma, he killed my pa, but I will vote for him." The elections were overseen by the United Nations' peacekeeping mission, United Nations Observer Mission in Liberia
United Nations Observer Mission in Liberia
The United Nations Observer Mission in Liberia was a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Liberia. It was established in Resolution 866 and headquartered in the capital Monrovia....
, along with a contingent from the Economic Community of West African States
Economic Community of West African States
The Economic Community of West African States is a regional group of fifteen West African countries. Founded on 28 May 1975, with the signing of the Treaty of Lagos, its mission is to promote economic integration across the region....
. Taylor won the election in a landslide, garnering 75 percent of the vote. Taylor's toughest competitor, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, collected only 10 percent of the vote. Taylor's victory has been widely attributed to the belief that he would resume the war if he lost.
Presidential election
| Candidate | Party | Number of Votes | % of Votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charles Taylor | National Patriotic Party National Patriotic Party The National Patriotic Party 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.... (NPP) |
468,443 | 75.33% |
| Ellen Johnson Sirleaf | Unity Party Unity Party (Liberia) The Unity Party is a political party in Liberia that was started in 1984 by the late Dr. Edward B. Kesselly, also its first standard bearer. The Unity Party participated the first post-1980 coup elections, running against then-President Samuel Doe in October 1985... (UP) |
59,557 | 9.58% |
| Alhaji G.V. Kromah Alhaji G.V. Kromah Professor Alhaji G.V. Kromah,Esq. is a veteran Liberian Journalist/writer, politician, Lawyer and former national resistance leader. He is a moderate Muslim and member of the Mandingo ethnic group from Tusu Town, Quardu-Gboni District, Lofa County. He attended St... |
All Liberia Coalition Party All Liberia Coalition Party The All Liberia Coalition Party is a political party in Liberia.In the last elections held on 19 July 1997, the ALCOP presidential candidate Alhaji G.V. Kromah won 4.02% of the vote. The party won 3 of 64 seats in the House of Representatives and 2 of 26 in the Senate... (ALCOP) |
25,059 | 4.02% |
| Cletus Wotorson Cletus Wotorson Cletus Segbe Wotorson is a Liberian politician and geologist. On March 26, 2009 he was elected as Acting President Pro Tempore of the Senate of Liberia, beating out fellow Senator Gbehzongar Findley.-Positions:... |
Alliance of Political Parties Alliance of Political Parties The Alliance of Political Parties was a coalition of two Liberian political parties, the Liberian Action Party and Liberia Unification Party , that contested the 19 July 1997 elections.... (ALLIANCE) |
15,969 | 2.57% |
| Gabriel Baccus Matthews Gabriel Baccus Matthews Gabriel Baccus Matthews was a Liberian politician. He was the leader of the Progressive Alliance of Liberia and the United People's Party and served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Liberia twice.... |
United People's Party United People's Party (Liberia) The United People's Party is a political party in Liberia.In the 11 October 2005 elections, the party participated as part of the Alliance for Peace and Democracy .... (UPP) |
15,604 | 2.51% |
| Togba-Nah Tipoteh Togba-Nah Tipoteh Togba-Nah Tipoteh is a politician, economist, and educator, having mostly recently been presidential candidate for Liberia's 2005 elections, running as the candidate for the Alliance for Peace and Democracy... |
Liberian People's Party Liberian People's Party The Liberian People's Party is a political party in Liberia.In the 11 October 2005 elections, the party participated as part of the Alliance for Peace and Democracy .... (LPP) |
10,010 | 1.61% |
| George Boley George Boley George Eutychianus Saigbe Boley is a Liberian politician and former rebel leader. He is a member of the Krahn ethnic group. He is currently detained by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement on charges of lying in order to enter the United States and committing extrajudicial killing in... |
National Democratic Party of Liberia National Democratic Party of Liberia The National Democratic Party of Liberia is a political party in Liberia.The NDPL was formed in August 1984 by supporters of Samuel Doe, who came to power in a 1980 military coup. The party contested the 15 October 1985 elections with Doe as its presidential candidate. He won 50.93% of the vote in... (NDPL) |
7,843 | 1.26% |
| Harry Moniba Harry Moniba Dr. Harry Fumba Moniba was a politician in Liberia hailing from the northeastern county of Lofa. He was the vice-president of Liberia from 1984 to September 1990 under the banner of the National Democratic Party of Liberia and ran for president in 1997... |
Liberia National Union Liberia National Union The Liberia National Union is a political party in Liberia West Africa. It was formed by Dr. Harry Moniba,the former Vice President of Liberia . Moniba also helped to create the multi party election system that the country currently uses. He served as LINU's first standard bearer as well... (LINU) |
6,708 | 1.08% |
| George T. Washington | People's Democratic Party of Liberia People's Democratic Party of Liberia The People's Democratic Party of Liberia is a political party in Liberia. It participated in the 1997 elections and fielded candidates in the 11 October 2005 elections as part of the four-party Coalition for the Transformation of Liberia .... (PDPL) |
3,497 | 0.56 |
| Martin Sheriff | National Reformation Party National Reformation Party The National Reformation Party is a political party in Liberia. It participated in the 1997 elections and fielded candidates in the 11 October 2005 elections.... (NRP) |
2,965 | 0.48 |
| Chea Cheapoo Chea Cheapoo Chea Job Cheapoo, Sr. is a Liberian politician who served as the 15th Chief Justice of Liberia from July 1987 until his impeachment and removal from office on December 2 of that year.... |
Progressive People's Party Progressive People's Party (Liberia) The Progressive People's Party is a political party in Liberia. It participated in the 1997 elections, but its current status is unclear, as it did not field candidates in the 11 October 2005 elections.... (PPP) |
2,142 | 0.34 |
| Henry Fahnbulleh | Reformation Alliance Party Reformation Alliance Party The Reformation Alliance Party is a political party in Liberia. It participated in the 1997 elections and fielded candidates in the 11 October 2005 elections as part of the United Democratic Alliance coalition.... (RAP) |
2,067 | 0.33 |
| Fayah Gbollie | Free Democratic Party Free Democratic Party (Liberia) The Free Democratic Party is a political party in Liberia. It participated in the 1997 elections and fielded candidates in the 11 October 2005 elections.... (FDP) |
2,016 | 0.32 |
| Total | 621,880 | 100 | |
Note: The Alliance of Political Parties was a coalition of the Liberian Action Party
Liberian Action Party
The Liberian Action Party was a political party in Liberia.The party fielded candidates in the 11 October 2005 elections as part of the four-party Coalition for the Transformation of Liberia ....
(LAP) and Liberia Unification Party
Liberia Unification Party
The Liberia Unification Party was a political party in Liberia.The party fielded candidates in the 11 October 2005 elections as part of the four-party Coalition for the Transformation of Liberia ....
(LUP).
Legislative results
Due to the system of proportional representationProportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
used in the election, legislative seats were distributed to parties on the basis of percentage of votes won by their respective presidential candidates.
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | House | |||
| National Patriotic Party National Patriotic Party The National Patriotic Party 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.... (NPP) |
468,443 | 75.33 | 21 | 49 |
| Unity Party Unity Party (Liberia) The Unity Party is a political party in Liberia that was started in 1984 by the late Dr. Edward B. Kesselly, also its first standard bearer. The Unity Party participated the first post-1980 coup elections, running against then-President Samuel Doe in October 1985... (UP) |
59,557 | 9.57 | 3 | 7 |
| All Liberia Coalition Party All Liberia Coalition Party The All Liberia Coalition Party is a political party in Liberia.In the last elections held on 19 July 1997, the ALCOP presidential candidate Alhaji G.V. Kromah won 4.02% of the vote. The party won 3 of 64 seats in the House of Representatives and 2 of 26 in the Senate... (ALCOP) |
25,059 | 4.03 | 2 | 3 |
| Alliance of Political Parties Alliance of Political Parties The Alliance of Political Parties was a coalition of two Liberian political parties, the Liberian Action Party and Liberia Unification Party , that contested the 19 July 1997 elections.... (ALLIANCE) |
15,969 | 2.57 | 0 | 2 |
| United People's Party United People's Party (Liberia) The United People's Party is a political party in Liberia.In the 11 October 2005 elections, the party participated as part of the Alliance for Peace and Democracy .... (UPP) |
15,604 | 2.51 | 0 | 2 |
| Liberian People's Party Liberian People's Party The Liberian People's Party is a political party in Liberia.In the 11 October 2005 elections, the party participated as part of the Alliance for Peace and Democracy .... (LPP) |
10,010 | 1.61 | 0 | 1 |
| National Democratic Party of Liberia National Democratic Party of Liberia The National Democratic Party of Liberia is a political party in Liberia.The NDPL was formed in August 1984 by supporters of Samuel Doe, who came to power in a 1980 military coup. The party contested the 15 October 1985 elections with Doe as its presidential candidate. He won 50.93% of the vote in... |
7,843 | 1.3 | 0 | 0 |
| Liberian National Union | 6,703 | 1.1 | 0 | 0 |
| People's Democratic Party of Liberia People's Democratic Party of Liberia The People's Democratic Party of Liberia is a political party in Liberia. It participated in the 1997 elections and fielded candidates in the 11 October 2005 elections as part of the four-party Coalition for the Transformation of Liberia .... |
3,497 | 0.6 | 0 | 0 |
| National Reformation Party National Reformation Party The National Reformation Party is a political party in Liberia. It participated in the 1997 elections and fielded candidates in the 11 October 2005 elections.... |
2,965 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Progressive People's Party Progressive People's Party (Liberia) The Progressive People's Party is a political party in Liberia. It participated in the 1997 elections, but its current status is unclear, as it did not field candidates in the 11 October 2005 elections.... |
2,142 | 0.3 | 0 | 0 |
| Reformation Alliance Party Reformation Alliance Party The Reformation Alliance Party is a political party in Liberia. It participated in the 1997 elections and fielded candidates in the 11 October 2005 elections as part of the United Democratic Alliance coalition.... |
2,067 | 0.3 | 0 | 0 |
| Free Democratic Party Free Democratic Party (Liberia) The Free Democratic Party is a political party in Liberia. It participated in the 1997 elections and fielded candidates in the 11 October 2005 elections.... |
2,016 | 0.3 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 621,880 | 100 | 26 | 64 |
| Source: Nohlen et al | ||||
Note: The Alliance of Political Parties was a coalition of the Liberian Action Party
Liberian Action Party
The Liberian Action Party was a political party in Liberia.The party fielded candidates in the 11 October 2005 elections as part of the four-party Coalition for the Transformation of Liberia ....
(LAP) and Liberia Unification Party
Liberia Unification Party
The Liberia Unification Party was a political party in Liberia.The party fielded candidates in the 11 October 2005 elections as part of the four-party Coalition for the Transformation of Liberia ....
(LUP).