Politics of Liberia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Liberia |
 This article is part of the series: |
|
|
|
Other countries · Politics Portal |
Politics of Liberia takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President is the head of state and head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of the legislature. Liberia is still in transition from dictatorship and civil war to democracy. Liberia's government is based on the American model of a republic with three equal branches of government, though in reality the President of Liberia has usually been the dominant force in Liberian politics. Following the dissolution of the Republican Party in 1876, the True Whig Party dominated the Liberian government until the 1980 coup. Currently, no party has majority control of the legislature. The longest serving president in Liberian history was William Tubman, serving from 1944 until his death in 1971. The shortest term was held by James Skivring Smith, who controlled the government all of two months. However, the political process from Liberia's founding in 1847, despite widespread corruption, was very stable until the end of the First Republic in 1980.
Contents |
[edit] Political developments
From 1980 to 2003, Liberia was governed by a series of military and transitional governments. The president of the last of these, Charles Taylor, was forced to step down in 2003, and the United Nations installed a transitional government. Elections to select a government to replace the transitional government took place in October and November 2005. (see Liberian elections, 2005).
In the 1980s, Samuel K. Doe's government increasingly adopted an ethnic outlook as members of his Krahn ethnic group soon dominated political and military life in Liberia. This caused a heightened level of ethnic tension leading to frequent hostilities between the politically and militarily dominant Krahns and other ethnic groups in the country.
Political parties remained banned until 1984. Elections were held on October 15, 1985 in which Doe's National Democratic Party of Liberia (NDPL) was declared winner. The elections were characterized by widespread fraud and rigging. The period after the elections saw increased human rights abuses, corruption, and ethnic tensions. The standard of living, which had been rising in the 1970s, declined drastically. On November 12, 1985, former Army Commanding General Thomas Quiwonkpa invaded Liberia by way of neighboring Sierra Leone and almost succeeded in toppling the government of Samuel Doe. Members of the Krahn-dominated Armed Forces of Liberia repelled Quiwonkpa's attack and executed him in Monrovia.
On December 24, 1989, a small band of rebels led by Doe's former procurement chief, Charles Taylor invaded Liberia from Côte d'Ivoire. Taylor and his National Patriotic Front rebels rapidly gained the support of Liberians because of the repressive nature of Samuel Doe and his government. Barely six months after the rebels first attacked, they had reached the outskirts of Monrovia.
The Liberian Civil War, which was one of Africa's bloodiest, claimed the lives of more than 200,000 Liberians and further displaced a million others into refugee camps in neighboring countries.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) intervened and succeeded in preventing Charles Taylor from capturing Monrovia. Prince Johnson who had been a member of Taylor's National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) but broke away because of policy differences, formed the Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia (INPFL). Johnson's forces captured and killed Doe on 9 September 1990.
An Interim Government of National Unity (IGNU) was formed in Gambia under the auspices of ECOWAS in October 1990 and Dr. Amos Sawyer became President. Taylor refused to work with the interim government and continued war.
By 1992, several warring factions had emerged in the Liberian civil war, all of which were absorbed in the new transitional government. After several peace accords and declining military power, Taylor finally agreed to the formation of a five-man transitional government.
After considerable progress in negotiations conducted by the United States, United Nations, Organization of African Unity, and the Economic Community of West African States, disarmament and demobilization of warring factions were hastily carried out and special elections were held on 19 July 1997 with Charles Taylor and his National Patriotic Party emerging victorious. Taylor won the election by a large majority, primarily because Liberians feared a return to war had Taylor lost. However, unrest continued, and by 2003, two rebel groups were challenging Taylor's control of the country. In August 2003, Taylor resigned and fled the country and vice-president Moses Blah became acting president. The international community again intervened and helped set up a transitional government under Gyude Bryant.
[edit] Executive branch
| Office | Name | Party | Since |
|---|---|---|---|
| President | Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf | UP | 16 January 2006 |
The president is elected by popular vote for a six-year term (renewable). The cabinet is appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate.
[edit] Legislative branch
Liberia has a bicameral Legislature that consists of the Senate (30 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve nine-year terms) and the House of Representatives (64 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
[edit] Political parties and elections
- For other political parties see List of political parties in Liberia. An overview on elections and election results is included in Elections in Liberia.
- More info: Liberia elections, 2005
| Parties and coalitions | House votes | % in House | House seats | Senate votes | % in Senate | Senate seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Congress for Democratic Change | 23.44% | 15 | 10% | 3 | ||
| Liberty Party | 14.06% | 9 | 10% | 3 | ||
| Coalition for the Transformation of Liberia | 12.5% | 8 | 23.34% | 7 | ||
| Unity Party | 12.5% | 8 | 10% | 3 | ||
| Alliance for Peace and Democracy | 7.81% | 5 | 10% | 3 | ||
| National Patriotic Party | 6.25% | 4 | 13.34% | 4 | ||
| New Deal Movement | 4.69% | 3 | 0% | - | ||
| All Liberia Coalition Party | 3.13% | 2 | 3.34% | 1 | ||
| National Democratic Party of Liberia | 1.56% | 1 | 6.67% | 2 | ||
| National Reformation Party | 1.56% | 1 | 3.34% | 1 | ||
| United Democratic Alliance | 1.56% | 1 | 0% | - | ||
| Independents | 10.94% | 7 | 10% | 3 | ||
| Total | 64 | 30 |
- More info: Liberia elections, 2005
[edit] Judicial branch
There is a Supreme Court, criminal courts, and appeals court and magistrate courts in the counties. There also are traditional courts and lay courts in the counties. Trial by ordeal is practiced in various parts of Liberia.
[edit] Administrative divisions
The basic unit of local government is the town chief. There are clan chiefs, paramount chiefs, and district commissioners. Mayors are elected in principal cities in Liberia. The counties are governed by superintendents appointed by the President. There are fifteen counties in Liberia.
[edit] International organization participation
ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
Algeria · Angola · Benin · Botswana · Burkina Faso · Burundi · Cameroon · Cape Verde · Central African Republic · Chad · Comoros · Democratic Republic of the Congo · Republic of the Congo · Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) · Djibouti · Egypt · Equatorial Guinea · Eritrea · Ethiopia · Gabon · The Gambia · Ghana · Guinea · Guinea-Bissau · Kenya · Lesotho · Liberia · Libya · Madagascar · Malawi · Mali · Mauritania · Mauritius · Morocco · Mozambique · Namibia · Niger · Nigeria · Rwanda · São Tomé and Príncipe · Senegal · Seychelles · Sierra Leone · Somalia · South Africa · Sudan · Swaziland · Tanzania · Togo · Tunisia · Uganda · Zambia · Zimbabwe
Dependencies and other territories
Ceuta · Mayotte · Melilla · Puntland · Réunion · St. Helena · Somaliland · Western Sahara (SADR)
