Unity Party (Liberia)

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The Unity Party (UP) 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 "Democratic" Elections, against former Tyrant and then Dictator, Samuel Doe, in October of 1985. The Party has remained active in Liberian politics since, and is now the ruling party in the Republic.

Unity Party's candidate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf won the 2005 presidential elections, besting George Weah of the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) in a run-off. The party also won 3 seats in the Senate and 8 in the House of Representatives.

In the previous elections held on 19 July 1997, the UP presidential candidate Johnson Sirleaf won 9.58% of the vote. The party won 7 of 64 seats in the House of Representatives and 3 of 26 in the Senate. While international observers deemed the polls administratively free and transparent, they noted that it had taken place in an atmosphere of intimidation because most voters believed that former rebel leader and National Patriotic Party (NPP) candidate Charles Taylor would return to war if defeated.