Liberia - Politics
Liberia suffered from an extended and far-reaching period of violent state collapse between 1990 and 2005. Liberia is a centralized republic dominated by a strong presidency. One phase of the civil war ended in 1996 with the Abuja Accords. Presidential and legislative general elections were held on July 19, 1997, and were scheduled to be held next in 2003. President Charles Taylor won the presidency in elections that were administratively free and transparent, but conducted in an atmosphere of intimidation. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf ran against Charles Taylor in 1997, but lost, at least partly due to the impression that Taylor would return to war if he failed to win the election. The ruling party was the National Patriotic Party (NPP) and there were 16 opposition parties, most of them weak and ineffectual. The NPP controlled a majority of the seats in the legislature, i.e., 21 of 26 in the Senate and 59 of 64 in the House.
The 2003 Accra Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) called for a National Transition Government of Liberia (NTGL) with large representation by the major armed factions. The resulting authority was pre-occupied with com-peting for positions from which they could extract resources and patronage. The 2005 elections (for President, Vice President, and all 30 Senate and 64 House seats) represented a critical opportunity for Liberia to move from a failed state into the early first stages of recovery, peacebuilding and democratization. The elections took place in a context of considerable uncertainty with a new and untested National Elections Commission, an array of weak and personalized political parties and widespread fears about security. Former international soccer star George Weah captured the imagination of many inside and outside of Liberia, who felt that his connection with Liberia's youth made him an almost inevitable winner, despite his lack of education and political experience.
Due to the high price of newspapers, the high rate of illiteracy (estimated at 75 percent), high transportation costs, and the poor state of roads elsewhere in the country, newspaper distribution generally is limited to the Monrovia area. As a result, radio was the primary means of mass communication. There were several FM stations in Monrovia: Two private commercial stations (DC-101); and Radio Veritas, which operated under the Catholic Archdiocese. There also was the state-run national station (ELBC), a FM station operated by President Taylor's private Liberia Communications Network (LCN). ELBC, and Radio Veritas also broadcast on short-wave frequencies strong enough to reach all parts of the country. In 2001 President Taylor closed the short wave frequency of Radio Veritas, citing "illegal operation." In February the Government restored the station's short-wave license, and in April Radio Veritas resumed short-wave broadcasting. There was a French broadcast through the national radio facility, a religious station (with limited short-wave capacity), and a growing number of small local stations in cities around the country. Media practitioners believed that the ruling party funded many of these stations.
Call-in radio talk shows were popular and frequently a forum for both government and opposition viewpoints. The number of objections and threats from the Government, party leaders, and security agents aimed at radio hosts and station managers regarding inappropriate commentary diminished to some extent. Interviews with prominent persons were broadcast frequently.
Due to the economic situation in the country and the dependence on generators requiring expensive fuel, most stations limited broadcast hours and in some cases ceased operation for short periods. Television was limited to those who could purchase sets, the generators, and fuel to provide electricity. For those persons and businesses with satellite capability, the CNN was available.
Despite the difficulties, successful elections were held and in the run-off election between the two, Mrs. Sirleaf employed modern campaign techniques, including polling, message development and targeted campaigning to achieve a stunning victory. Her connection with the female voters may have not only made the difference in her election, but also may pave the way for other female candidates throughout Africa. The Harvard University-educated Sirleaf twice served as finance minister. She also held key jobs at the United Nations and the World Bank.
The newly elected government took office on 16 January 2006, with Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was sworn in as the first elected female President in the history of independent Africa Following the election, Mrs. Sirleaf spent a great deal of time outside of Liberia, and many observers felt her gender and her supposed lack of common touch would prevent her from being elected President.
As members of the NGTL were excluded from running in these elections, the playing field was considered relatively level and no one party gained a majority in the National Legisla-ture. The new Legislature was a mosaic of different actors, including some from previous govern-ments, and others with limited formal education or with ties to former warring factions. The new government has been working since its inauguration, but many issues remain to be addressed. A UNMIL/GOL assessment characterized Liberia as “fragile” and identified some of the serious threats to its stability as insecurity, lack of rule of law, unemployment among youth (in-cluding groups of ex-combatants), pervasive ethnic tensions, land disputes and the need for better governance and economic development.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission signed the unedited version of its final report on 30 June 2009, as required by the act establishing the TRC. The report examines the reasons for the war, going back as far as the establishment of Liberia as a state and the society that existed until the 1980s. The 370-page report included several recommendations. The commission recommended prosecution for 98 of the "most notorious" perpetrators, disbarment from public office for 52 supporters of factions, reconciliation activities at the national and local levels, and reparations, as required by the TRC Act of 2003. Of note are some glaring omissions, such as Taylor supporters John T. Richardson and Oscar Cooper among others. As well, the fact that Joshua Milton Blayee (aka "General Butt Naked" known for eating human flesh) and LURD commander Joe Wylie were not recommended for prosecution on the grounds they had shown sufficient remorse, raised questions, given the level of atrocities they perpetrated. While it was expected that President Sirleaf would be mentioned in the report, that the TRC would recommend that she be banned from politics came as a surprise.
The release of the report has opened wounds in Liberian society that were closed but apparently not healed. The report reflects the split in Liberian society between those who desire restorative justice and those who seek reconciliation. During the TRC process there were reconciliation ceremonies held in all of the counties where the commission held hearings, but this tone of reconciliation is largely absent in the final report.
Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf announced her intention to run for re-election in 2011 at the conclusion of her 25 January 2010 annual message to the National Legislature. The announcement comes despite Sirleaf's promise during the 2005 electoral campaign not to seek a second term. Her high-profile announcement is a direct challenge to the recommendations of the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission that she be banned from politics for thirty years and proof that she sees herself as the people's candidate.
The Johnson Sirleaf government won substantial donor support for its new poverty reduction strategy at the June 2008 Liberia Poverty Reduction Forum in Berlin, Germany. In order to maintain stability through the post-conflict period, Liberia's security sector reform efforts have led to the disarmament of more than 100,000 ex-combatants, the wholesale U.S.-led reconstruction of the Armed Forces of Liberia, and a UN-led effort to overhaul the Liberian National Police. The mandate of UNMIL was extended in September 2011 to September 2012. Within UNMIL's mandate is a Peacebuilding Commission focusing on promoting rule of law, security sector reform, and national reconciliation. However, the Government of Liberia has continued to avoid taking action on freezing assets of former President Charles Taylor and his supporters, as mandated by the UN Security Council.
Liberia’s executive and legislative branches brokered a compromise regarding the constitutional requirement for application of redistricting results (from the 2008 census) in preparation for 2011's presidential and legislative elections. In February, the National Elections Commission (NEC) completed voter registration (82% of the electorate) for those elections. As a necessary prelude, the NEC prepared a constitutional referendum for August 23, 2011 on individually-packaged amendments to: shorten the residency requirement from 10 to 5 years for presidential and vice-presidential candidates, increase the mandatory retirement age of Supreme Court justices from 70 to 75, move the date of national elections from the second Tuesday in October to the second Tuesday in November, and use a single-round, first-past-the-post (simple majority) method for all legislative and municipal elections while maintaining the two-round system for presidential elections. Approval by two-thirds of registered voters was required for ratification.
The choice of Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as one of three Nobel Peace Prize winners this year is already sparking controversy. Sirleaf said she was humbled by the award and called it an achievement for the Liberian people. But skeptics questioned whether the Norwegian-based Nobel Committee is interfering with Liberia's domestic politics, choosing Sirleaf less than a week before she stood for reelection. Her main rival Winston Tubman said Sirleaf did not deserve the award. She had come under criticism from political rivals for her ties to former rebel leader President Charles Taylor. Critics also accused her of failing to live up to her promises of reconciling Liberia's many factions, pursuing justice for war crimes victims and tackling corruption.
The October 11, 2011 presidential and legislative elections and the subsequent November 8, 2011 presidential run-off were declared free, fair, and transparent by ECOWAS, the African Union, the Carter Center, and other observers. The Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) alleged fraud in the first round and boycotted the run-off election. President Johnson Sirleaf defeated Winston Tubman of the CDC by 90.7% to 9.3% in the run-off to win re-election. She was inaugurated on January 16, 2012.
Widely credited with building roads and improving infrastructure during her first term, Sirleaf's efforts to reconcile Liberia's deep divisions have been less successful. Emphasizing national unity as a second-term priority, she welcomed her opponent in last year's vote, former justice minister Winston Tubman, who sat in the first row of the audience on the capitol grounds January 15, 2012, as Sirleaf took the oath of office for a second term.
Originally slated for 14 October 2014, Liberia's special senatorial elections were moved to 20 December 2014 due to the Ebola outbreak. Amid this public health crisis, Liberians will head to the polls to elect half of the country's 30-member Senate. With the State of Emergency imposed by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf expiring in November, the conduct of this election will be an important marker of the progress made in the fight against Ebola.
All officials appointed by the president and who are desirous of seeking an elected office must resign their appointed positions two years prior to the date in which they will be seeking an elected office. Liberian Foreign Minister Augustine Ngafuan resigned 05 October 2015 , saying he wants to be an active player in the coming 2017 presidential and general elections. He served the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf government for 10 unbroken years in various capacities: as finance minister, director of the Bureau of the Budget and foreign minister.
The nation was rocked by claims in 2018 that more than $100 million in Liberian banknotes had disappeared. Liberia's central bank did not lose more than $100 million in newly printed notes, its governor said on October 02, 2018, disputing prior government statements that have sparked outrage and a federal investigation. Although an investigation concluded the banknotes had not disappeared, it did reveal serious mismanagement of the country's finances.
Liberian police on March 04, 2019 formally charged the 61-year-old son of the country’s former president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, in connection with the unlawful overprinting of local currency worth millions of U.S. dollars. Separately, police also opened an investigation into the death of a central bank official. Charles Sirleaf and others, including former Central Bank governor Milton Weeks, face a multitude of charges, including economic sabotage, the misuse of public money and criminal conspiracy.
Thousands of protesters gathered 07 June 2019 in Monrovia, marking Liberia's largest anti-government demonstration since George Weah became president in early 2018.
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