2005 Liberian general election: Difference between revisions
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Frances Johnson-Morris, the chairwoman of the National Elections Commission (NEC), announced the October 11 date on [[February 7]], 2005.<small><sup>[[#References|1]]</sup></small> |
Frances Johnson-Morris, the chairwoman of the National Elections Commission (NEC), announced the October 11 date on [[February 7]], 2005.<small><sup>[[#References|1]]</sup></small> |
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The [[House of Representatives of Liberia|House of Representatives]] of the new [[Legislature of Liberia|Legislature]] will have 64 seats; each of Liberia's 15 [[Counties of Liberia|counties]] will have two seats, and the remaining 34 seats will be allotted proportionally based on voter registration.<small><sup>[[#References|5]]</sup></small> The [[Senate of Liberia|Senate]] will have 30 seats. |
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== George Weah == |
== George Weah == |
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Revision as of 10:21, 11 November 2005
 | This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The latest updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. |
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 Liberia portal |
Liberian elections in 2005 took place in two rounds, 11 October and 8 November, 2005 in Liberia. In the presidential race, 22 people contested 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. With 90% of the vote counted in the run-off, Johnson-Sirleaf holds an unassailable 59%-41% lead. Weah has filed a formal fraud complaint.
The country has been led by a transitional government since October 2003—which took office following the resignation and departure into exile of President Charles Taylor in August 2003, as part of a deal to end the country's second civil war—and these elections mark the end of the transition.
Important dates and regulations
Frances Johnson-Morris, the chairwoman of the National Elections Commission (NEC), announced the October 11 date on February 7, 2005.1
The House of Representatives of the new Legislature will have 64 seats; each of Liberia's 15 counties will have two seats, and the remaining 34 seats will be allotted proportionally based on voter registration.5 The Senate will have 30 seats.
George Weah
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 1st round of voting and appears to have lost in the November 8, 2005 run-off. He has filed formal fraud charges.
Excluded candidates
These are Liberia's first elections since a victory by Taylor and his National Patriotic Party in the July 1997 elections, which some did not consider fully free and fair. The chairman of the transitional government, Gyude Bryant, and other members of the transitional government will not run, according to the terms of the peace deal.
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 11.6
Presidential candidates
Preliminary Results
2005 Presidential election results
In the runoff election on November 8, with 2,787 of 3,070 precints reporting (90.8%), Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf leads George Weah 443,810-306,580. Weah has begun to claim 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." [2]
Assuming Weah concedes and no legal challenge is brought, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf will become the first democratically-elected female Head of State in the history of the African Continent, and the first female African Head of State since Empress Zauditu, who ruled Ethiopia from 1916 to 1930.
The table below reflects the incomplete second-round numbers.
Legislative Elections
| Votes House | % | Seats House | Votes Senate | % | Seats Senate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Congress for Democratic Change | 15 | 3 | ||||
| Liberty Party | 9 | 3 | ||||
| Coalition for the Transformation of Liberia | 8 | 7 | ||||
| Unity Party | 8 | 3 | ||||
| Alliance for Peace and Democracy | 5 | 3 | ||||
| National Patriotic Party | 4 | 4 | ||||
| New Deal Movement | 3 | - | ||||
| All Liberia Coalition Party | 2 | 1 | ||||
| National Democratic Party of Liberia | 1 | 2 | ||||
| National Reformation Party | 1 | 1 | ||||
| United Democratic Alliance | 1 | - | ||||
| Independents | 7 | 3 | ||||
| Total (turnout %) | 64' | 30' |
References
- Agence France-Presse (AFP), "Liberia to hold elections October 11", February 7, 2005.
- Manchester Evening News, "President George", February 19, 2005.
- AFP, "Football legend George Weah urged to stand for Liberian presidency", October 3, 2004.
- Terence Sesay, Deutsche Presse-Agentur, "Presidential candidate Weah takes Monrovia by storm", November 24, 2004.
- AFP, "Liberia electoral reform bill signed into law", December 17, 2004.
- Deutsche Presse-Agentur, "Two Liberian candidates stand down to prevent delay of election", October 6, 2005.
- http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/world/13132018.htm
- http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-1866394,00.html
External links
General Information
- National Elections Commission
- Liberia 2005: The Road to Democracy
- United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) Electoral Division
- United Liberia - Latest News
Candidates
- Ellen for President
- 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
Political parties
Articles
- I am woman, hear my roar Katharine Houreld on the participation of women in the 2005 Liberian election.