2017 Liberian general election

2017 Liberian presidential election
	10 October 2017 (first round); 26 December 2017 (second round)
	10 October 2017 (first round); 26 December 2017 (second round)
	Counties won in the second round
President before election; Ellen Johnson Sirleaf; UP	Elected President ; George Weah; CDC

General elections were held in Liberia on 10 October 2017 to elect the President and House of Representatives. No candidate won a majority in the first round of the presidential vote, so the top two finishers — CDC standard-bearer Amb. George Weah and UP standard-bearer Vice President Joseph Boakai — competed in a run-off on 26 December. The second round was originally scheduled for 7 November,[1] but was postponed after LP standard-bearer Cllr. Charles Brumskine, in third place, challenged the result in the Supreme Court.[2] The Supreme Court dismissed the challenge, which would have forced a re-run of the first round had it been successful,[3] and the second round was held on 26 December. Weah emerged victorious with 60% of the vote.[4]

The elections were overseen by the National Elections Commission (NEC) and were the first elections to be run entirely by the Government of Liberia and security forces since the conclusion of the civil wars in 2003.[5]

Electoral system

The President is elected using the two-round system,[6] whilst the 73 members of the House of Representatives are elected by first-past-the-post voting in single-member constituencies.[7]

Candidates

Incumbent President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, in office since 2006, was constitutionally barred from running for a third term; the election was therefore to choose her successor.[8]

Joseph Boakai,[8] Vice President since January 2006
Charles Brumskine, Leader of the Liberty Party and former President Pro Temp of the Senate[9]
MacDella Cooper, philanthropist[10]
Alexander B. Cummings, former Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer of Coca-Cola[11]
Prince Yormie Johnson, former rebel leader[8]
Joseph Mills Jones, leader of the Movement for Economic Empowerment and former Governor of the Central Bank of Liberia[12]
Richard Miller, businessman
Benoni Urey, businessman[8]
George Weah, former footballer who was defeated by Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in the 2005 election[13]
MacDonald A. Wento, United People's Party[14]
Jeremiah Whapoe, businessman[8]

Opinion polls

Pollster	Date	Sample size	Boakai Unity	Weah CDC	Johnson FDUP	Urey All Liberian	Brumskine Liberty	Cooper ULD	Cummings ANC	Undecided
Pollster	Date	Sample size								Undecided
Liberia Holding Consortium	May 2017	275	29.45%	21.18%	N/A	11.26%	16%	0.72%	9.45%	N/A
Liberia Holding Consortium	June 2017	484	36.36%	18.38%	3.92%	4.75%	13.22%	0.82%	7.02%	13.01%
Liberia Holding Consortium	August 2017	763	33.81%	21.1%	2.88%	2.49%	12.45%	N/A	5.63%	13.63%
International Political Polls	August 2017	1,224	21.74%	24.73%	8.72%	6.38%	23.49%	N/A	9.55%	N/A

Conduct

The European Union Electoral Observer Mission (EU EOM)'s preliminary statement, issued on 12 October 2017, acknowledged generally peaceful polling. However, "The EU EOM has directly observed several instances of public officials engaged in campaigning that further hampered equality among contestants. The mission has received claims about the uneven use of state resources and access to public spaces working to the advantage of the incumbent. The mission's direct observation indicates a high level of monetisation of the campaign, where a culture of in-kind and financial hand-outs to communities prevails."[15]

Results

Counties won in the first round

President

Candidate	Party	First round		Second round
Candidate	Party	Votes	%	Votes	%
George Weah	Coalition for Democratic Change	596,037	38.4	732,185	61.5
Joseph Boakai	Unity Party	446,716	28.8	457,579	38.5
Charles Brumskine	Liberty Party	149,495	9.6
Prince Johnson	Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction	127,666	8.2
Alexander B. Cummings	Alternative National Congress	112,067	7.2
Benoni Urey	All Liberian Party	24,246	1.6
Joseph Mills Jones	Movement for Economic Empowerment	12,854	0.8
MacDella Cooper	Liberia Restoration Party	11,645	0.7
Henry Fahnbulleh	Liberian People's Party	11,560	0.7
Oscar Cooper	Independent	10,381	0.7
MacDonald Wento	United People's Party	8,968	0.6
Simeon Freeman	Movement for Progressive Change	6,682	0.4
Isaac Wiles	Democratic Justice Party	6,379	0.4
Aloysius Kpadeh	Independent	5,922	0.4
Kennedy Sandy	Liberia Transformation Party	5,343	0.3
George Dweh	Redemption Democratic Congress	4,935	0.3
William Tuider	New Liberia Party	4,920	0.3
Jeremiah Whapoe	Vision for Liberia Transformation	3,946	0.3
Yarkpajuwur Mator	Independent	1,940	0.1
Wendell McIntosh	Change Democratic Action	1,646	0.1
Invalid/blank votes		88,574	–	28,360	–
Total		1,641,922	100	1,218,124	100
Registered voters/turnout		2,183,629	75.2
Source: NEC, NEC

House of Representatives

Constituencies won

Party	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC–NPP–LPDP)	239,754	15.57	21	+7
Unity Party	220,508	14.32	20	−4
Liberty Party	131,980	8.57	3	−4
Alternative National Congress	93,475	6.07	0	New
People's Unification Party	90,421	5.87	5	New
All Liberian Party	77,013	5.00	3	New
Movement for Economic Empowerment	59,268	3.85	1	New
Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction	56,734	3.69	2	New
Coalition for Liberia's Progress	50,732	3.30	0	New
Liberia Transformation Party	49,621	3.22	1	0
United People's Party	47,357	3.08	1	New
Victory for Change Party	28,385	1.84	1	+1
Liberian People's Party	24,287	1.58	1	New
Vision for Liberia Transformation	21,324	1.39	0	New
Grassroot Democratic Party of Liberia	20,588	1.34	0	0
Liberia National Union	20,227	1.31	1	+1
Movement for Progressive Change	19,980	1.30	0	−2
True Whig Party	14,723	0.96	0	New
Liberia Restoration Party	11,690	0.76	0	New
Democratic Justice Party	7,415	0.48	0	New
Change Democratic Action	7,166	0.47	0	New
Redemption Democratic Congress	5,731	0.37	0	New
Liberians for Prosperity	628	0.04	0	New
New Liberia Party	494	0.03	0	New
Independents	240,001	15.59	13	−2
Invalid/blank votes	83,427	–	–	–
Total	1,622,929	100	73	0
Registered voters/turnout			–	–
Source: NEC

References

Liberia election: Weah and Boakai headed for presidential run-off BBC News, 16 October 2017
Liberia presidential vote halted by country's Supreme Court BBC News, 1 November 2017
Liberian authorities tight-lipped over run-off and electoral roll clean-up Radio France International, 11 December 2017
George Weah elected Liberian president BBC News, 28 December 2017
'Everything is going to plan' – Liberians vote in first election run without UN The Guardian, 11 October 2017
Liberia IFES
Electoral system IPU
Liberia's election threatens its fragile stability Financial Times, 8 April 2016
Liberia's Brumskine Outlines Vision for 2017 Presidential Bid VOA, 17 July 2015
First 2017 Female Presidential Aspirant Liberian Observer, 18 October 2016
Alexander B. Cummings – The free-marketeer presidential candidate hoping to transform Liberia International Business Times, 23 January 2017
Dr. Mills Jones Calls on Liberians to Elect Talented People in Office Archived 7 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine Front Page Africa
Liberia ex-footballer George Weah to run for president again BBC News, 28 April 2016
UPP will not accept foreign money Archived 1 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine The New Dawn, 19 June 2017
Preliminary statement: Liberians mobilise for a democratic transition in elections, with scope for legal and procedural improvements European Union Election Observation Mission, 12 October 2017

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[1] Liberia election: Weah and Boakai headed for presidential run-off BBC News, 16 October 2017

[BBC111-2] Liberia presidential vote halted by country's Supreme Court BBC News, 1 November 2017

[3] Liberian authorities tight-lipped over run-off and electoral roll clean-up Radio France International, 11 December 2017

[4] George Weah elected Liberian president BBC News, 28 December 2017

[5] 'Everything is going to plan' – Liberians vote in first election run without UN The Guardian, 11 October 2017

[6] Liberia IFES

[7] Electoral system IPU

[ft-8] Liberia's election threatens its fragile stability Financial Times, 8 April 2016

[9] Liberia's Brumskine Outlines Vision for 2017 Presidential Bid VOA, 17 July 2015

[10] First 2017 Female Presidential Aspirant Liberian Observer, 18 October 2016

[11] Alexander B. Cummings – The free-marketeer presidential candidate hoping to transform Liberia International Business Times, 23 January 2017

[12] Dr. Mills Jones Calls on Liberians to Elect Talented People in Office Archived 7 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine Front Page Africa

[13] Liberia ex-footballer George Weah to run for president again BBC News, 28 April 2016

[14] UPP will not accept foreign money Archived 1 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine The New Dawn, 19 June 2017

[15] Preliminary statement: Liberians mobilise for a democratic transition in elections, with scope for legal and procedural improvements European Union Election Observation Mission, 12 October 2017

Elections and referendums in Liberia
Presidential elections	1847 1849 1851 1853 1855 1857 1859 1861 1863 1865 1867 1869 1871 1873 1875 1877 1879 1881 1883 1885 1887 1889 1891 1893 1895 1897 1899 1901 1903 1905 1907 1911 1915 1919 1923 1927 1931 1939 1943 1951 1955 1959 1963 1967 1971 1975 1985 1997 2005 2011 2017
Legislative elections	1840 1847 1849 1851 1853 1855 1857 1859 1861 1863 1865 1867 1869 1871 1873 1875 1877 1879 1881 1883 1885 1887 1889 1891 1893 1895 1897 1899 1901 1903 1905 1907 1911 1915 1919 1923 1927 1931 1935 1939 1943 1951 1955 1959 1963 1967 1971 1975 1985 1997 2005 2011 2014 2017 2020
Local elections	... 1986
Referendums	1846 1847 1849 1861 1869 1870 1907 1927 1935 1943 1945 1946 1949 1955 1972 1975 1984 2011 2020
See also: Elections and referendums in the Republic of Maryland