Political Parties and Elections in Liberia
For the record, Liberia is a republic with a representative form of democracy. Whether this description is a misrepresentation of the facts that Liberia has been governed by a single group of people, Americo-Liberians for over a century and half is an irony worth looking into. Today, the infamous True Whig Party, TWP is blamed for the underdevelopment and lack of system in our country. It is something that people from the old era have constantly refuted.
During those dark days, there were few pressure groups that spoke out against ills of the TWP. Prominent amongst these were, the Progressive Alliance of Liberia(PAL) of the Late Baccus Matthews who is credited as the father of multi-party democracy in Liberia and Movement for Justice in Africa(MOJA) of Dr. Togba Nah Tipoteh. Their agitation led to the infamous " Evil Saturday" or the bloody rice riot of April 14, 1979. Scores of innocent lives were lost and many advocates and activists were thrown behind bars. These trend of events led to the coup of April 12, 1980 when supposedly enlisted men of the Armed Forces of Liberia headed by a Master Sergeant, Samuel K. Doe toppled the regime of the late William R. Tolbert, Jr. The facts surrounding the actual coup plotters is still yet a debate that lingers on. Samuel Doe and the People's Redemption Council, PRC ran the country for 5 years and organized Liberia's first multi-party elections on October 15, 1985 with many expecting Jackson Doe of the Liberia Unification Party(LUP) to be the winner but Samuel Doe eventually rigged the presidential election. Our current president Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf won the Montserrado Senatorial seat but refused to serve as a protest to the votes rig.
After a 15-year devastating civil strife, and a couple of transitional leadership through the invention through subregional initiatives, fresh elections were held on July 19, 1997 with 11 candidates for the presidency and the warlord, Charles Taylor and his National Patriotic Party, NPP emerging as winner. The country eventually went back to war due to the misrule and witch-hunting of Charles Taylor. During the bloodbath, Taylor was forced into exile and a transitional government took over leading the way for the historic 2005 general and presidential elections. With a panoply of 22 presidential candidates, the stakes were high especially on the brink of history with two of the forerunners being rare in not only our country's history but the entire continent. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a woman and George Weah a soccer icon. After a runoff, Madam Sirleaf won 59.4% of the votes becoming not only Liberia's first woman president but also Africa.
The Ellen Sirleaf's administration has made tremendous stride in lifting Liberia from its lowest ebb and making it gains its place amongst the comity of nations.
Elections are nearing and expectations are high as Madam Sirleaf seeks her second term to continue the task at hand and the opposition including that of Charles Brumskine and Winston Tubman are hoping to be alternatives to Ellen Sirleaf. Lets see how that plays out.
During those dark days, there were few pressure groups that spoke out against ills of the TWP. Prominent amongst these were, the Progressive Alliance of Liberia(PAL) of the Late Baccus Matthews who is credited as the father of multi-party democracy in Liberia and Movement for Justice in Africa(MOJA) of Dr. Togba Nah Tipoteh. Their agitation led to the infamous " Evil Saturday" or the bloody rice riot of April 14, 1979. Scores of innocent lives were lost and many advocates and activists were thrown behind bars. These trend of events led to the coup of April 12, 1980 when supposedly enlisted men of the Armed Forces of Liberia headed by a Master Sergeant, Samuel K. Doe toppled the regime of the late William R. Tolbert, Jr. The facts surrounding the actual coup plotters is still yet a debate that lingers on. Samuel Doe and the People's Redemption Council, PRC ran the country for 5 years and organized Liberia's first multi-party elections on October 15, 1985 with many expecting Jackson Doe of the Liberia Unification Party(LUP) to be the winner but Samuel Doe eventually rigged the presidential election. Our current president Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf won the Montserrado Senatorial seat but refused to serve as a protest to the votes rig.
After a 15-year devastating civil strife, and a couple of transitional leadership through the invention through subregional initiatives, fresh elections were held on July 19, 1997 with 11 candidates for the presidency and the warlord, Charles Taylor and his National Patriotic Party, NPP emerging as winner. The country eventually went back to war due to the misrule and witch-hunting of Charles Taylor. During the bloodbath, Taylor was forced into exile and a transitional government took over leading the way for the historic 2005 general and presidential elections. With a panoply of 22 presidential candidates, the stakes were high especially on the brink of history with two of the forerunners being rare in not only our country's history but the entire continent. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a woman and George Weah a soccer icon. After a runoff, Madam Sirleaf won 59.4% of the votes becoming not only Liberia's first woman president but also Africa.
The Ellen Sirleaf's administration has made tremendous stride in lifting Liberia from its lowest ebb and making it gains its place amongst the comity of nations.
Elections are nearing and expectations are high as Madam Sirleaf seeks her second term to continue the task at hand and the opposition including that of Charles Brumskine and Winston Tubman are hoping to be alternatives to Ellen Sirleaf. Lets see how that plays out.
