Liberia

After working in Liberia leading up to the 1997 elections, the International Republican Institute (IRI) returned in early 2003 and began work to open an office and a political party resource center. The center provides the parties with computers, photocopiers, reference, and other materials to help them gear up for the elections.

IRI sent a 20-member delegation to monitor the historic parliamentary and presidential elections in October 2005, and another 20-member delegation to monitor the presidential run-off election in November 2005. The result of which saw the first African woman elected to the presidency. IRI's post-election programming has focused on training newly-elected officials on the legislative process, as well as polling work.

Political Party Development

IRI's work in Liberia has made a considerable contribution to political party empowerment. IRI remains regularly engaged with nearly all of the political parties in Liberia, and many of them are regular participants in IRI meetings and events. Before the 2005 elections, IRI was instrumental in the formation of the Inter Party Consultative Committee that brought together the National Election Commission and Liberia's political parties to discuss all aspects of the electoral process. IRI also was instrumental in getting Liberia's political parties to agree to and sign the Code of Conduct for Political Parties. The code was a voluntary agreement on rules of behavior for political parties and their supporters during an election campaign.

Providing Access to Information

The resource center currently provides political parties with access to computers, photocopiers, reference materials and other resources required to effectively carry out their activities. As a necessary complement to those resources, IRI also offers training to the parties on issues such as message development and communication, outreach and mobilization, and party organization and financing.

Election Observation Missions and Post-Election Programming

During the elections, IRI sponsored the first-ever presidential candidate debate and held two election observation missions. The post-election period has been a critical stage Liberia's democratic process. In the aftermath of the elections IRI has continued to work with political parties by helping parties to build sustainable institutions and encouraging broader participation in the political process. IRI has held technical workshops promoting party sustainability in the post-election period and continued with focus group research. In partnership with the Liberia Islamic Union for Reconstruction and Development, IRI held three Muslim Women's Advocacy National Workshop to stress decision-making skills, encourage women to take leadership positions, provide basic concepts on micro-credit initiatives and raise awareness of HIV/AIDS. IRI and has continued to encourage the further institutionalization of the Inter-Party Consultative Committee.

Emerging from a legacy of authoritarian rule, Liberia finds itself at a unique crossroads in its political history and at an exceptional moment in its democratic political development.

Under the previous administrations, including that of Charles Taylor, democratic institutions were systematically suppressed. The government's oppressive practices instigated a rebel movement that began a civil war to overthrow Taylor in 1989. The civil war came to a bloody climax when rebels entered the capital Monrovia, in June 2003. Their two-month siege of the city coupled with international pressure forced Taylor into exile the following August.

With the departure of former president Charles Taylor, the subsequent peace agreement, the growing United Nations peacekeeping force, and the current democratic government, it seems that now, more than ever, democracy has a legitimate chance to take root in this troubled West African country. Still, this democracy will require time and effort to develop.

Besides institutional and material deficiencies, Liberia's political parties lack the political substance of developed party organizations. This election saw the emergence of the Unity Party and the Congress for Democratic Change as the two strongest parties in Liberia, followed by Liberty Party and the Coalition for the Transition of Liberia.

With IRI support, political parties in Liberia were able to provide the Liberian electorate with various political options in the recent elections. In the long-term and throughout the post-election period, political parties will have to build on the gains made from the recent electoral processes and further build their respective institutions by providing a viable conduit through which constituents can influence public policy. Well-organized opposition parties will also have to step up to the plate and forge an effective check on the government.

Given Liberia's developing democracy, it was imperative that the 2005 election process succeed. The successful conduct of transparent and peaceful elections does not represent the pinnacle of democratic progress or the only way to end the violence and culture of impunity that led to the collapse of the Liberian state. Nonetheless, the establishment of regular elections, greater political stability, better economic prospects and enhanced transparency in government will certainly move Liberians and their country toward the goal of true democracy. IRI programming has built upon the successful 2005 elections, with a robust post-election programming that has included focus group research, exit polling, and political party trainings.

Political Overview

Head of Government: President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Unity Party

Type of Government: republic

Suffrage: universal, age 18

Elections Calendar

Program Overview

Focus of Program: political party empowerment program

Funding Source: United States Agency for International Development