Liberia

Government

Government type: presidential republic Capital: name: Monrovia

Administrative divisions: 15 counties; Bomi, Bong, Gbarpolu, Grand Bassa, Grand Cape Mount, Grand Gedeh, Grand Kru, Lofa, Margibi, Maryland, Montserrado, Nimba, River Cess, River Gee, Sinoe Independence: 26 July 1847 National holiday: Independence Day, 26 July (1847) Constitution: history: previous 1847 (at independence); latest drafted 19 October 1983, revised version adopted by referendum 3 July 1984, effective 6 January 1986 amendments: proposed by agreement of at least two-thirds of both National Assembly houses or by petition of at least 10,000 citizens; passage requires at least two-thirds majority approval of both houses and approval in a referendum by at least two-thirds majority of registered voters; amended 2011; note - a series of amendment proposals approved by the Constitution Review Conference in early 2015 are pending a referendum ahead of October 2017 elections (2017) Legal system: mixed legal system of common law (based on Anglo-American law) and customary law International law organization participation: accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction Citizenship: citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Liberia dual citizenship recognized: no residency requirement for naturalization: 2 years Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal Executive branch: chief of state: President George WEAH (since 22 January 2018); Vice President Jewel TAYLOR (since 22 January 2018); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government head of government: President George WEAH (since 22 January 2018); Vice President Jewel Taylor (since 22 January 2018) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president, confirmed by the Senate elections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 6-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 10 October 2017 (run-off scheduled for 26 December 2017); the runoff originally scheduled for 7 November 2017 was been halted pending a ruling on fraud allegations election results: George WEAH elected president in second round; percent of vote in first round - George WEAH (Coalition for Democratic Change) 38.4%, Joseph BOAKAI (UP) 28.8%, Charles BRUMSKINE (LP) 9.6%, Prince JOHNSON (MDR) 8.2%, Alexander B. CUMMINGS (ANC) 7.2%, other 7.8%; percentage of vote in second round - George WEAH 61.5%, Joseph BOAKAI 38.5% Legislative branch: description: bicameral National Assembly consists of the Senate (30 seats; members directly elected in 15 2-seat districts by simple majority vote to serve 9-year staggered terms; each district elects 1 senator and elects the second senator 3 years later, followed by a 6-year hiatus, after which the first Senate seat is up for election) and the House of Representatives (73 seats; members directly elected in single-seat districts by simple majority vote to serve 6-year terms; eligible for a second term) elections: Senate - last held on 20 December 2014 (originally scheduled for 14 October 2014 but postponed due to Ebola-virus epidemic; next to be held in October 2020); House of Representatives - last held on 10 October 2017 (next to be held in October 2023) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - CDC 29.8%, UP 10.3%, LP 11.5%, NPP 6.1%, PUP 4.9%, ANC 4.2%, NDC 1.3%, other 7.6%, independent 24.3%; seats by party - UP 4, CDC 2, LP 2, ANC 1, NDC 1, NPP 1, PUP 1, independent 3 House of Representatives - percent of vote by party/coalition - Coalition for Democratic Change 15.6%, UP 14%, LP 8.7%, ANC 6.1%, PUP 5.9%, ALP 5.1%, MDR 3.4%, other 41.2%; seats by party/coalition - Coalition for Democratic Change 21, UP 19, PUP 5, LP 3, ALP 3, MDR 2, independent 12, other 6, vacant 2 Judicial branch: highest court(s): Supreme Court (consists of a chief justice and 4 associate justices); note - the Supreme Court has jurisdiction for all constitutional cases judge selection and term of office: chief justice and associate justices appointed by the president of Liberia with consent of the Senate; judges can serve until age 70 subordinate courts: judicial circuit courts; special courts including criminal, civil, labor, traffic; magistrate and traditional or customary courts Political parties and leaders: Alliance for Peace and Democracy or APD [Marcus S. G. DAHN] All Liberian Party or ALL [Benoi UREY] Alternative National Congress or ANC [Orishil GOULD] Coalition for Democratic Change [George WEAH] (includes CDC, NPP, LPDP) Congress for Democratic Change or CDC [George WEAH] Liberia Destiny Party or LDP [Nathaniel BARNES] Liberia National Union or LINU [Nathaniel BLAMA] Liberia Transformation Party or LTP [Julius SUKU] Liberian People Democratic Party or LPDP [Alex J. TYLER] Liberian People's Party or LPP Liberty Party or LP [J. Fonati KOFFA] Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction or MDR [Prince Y. JOHNSON] Movement for Economic Empowerment [J. Mill JONES, Dr.] Movement for Progressive Change or MPC [Simeon FREEMAN] National Democratic Coalition or NDC [Dew MAYSON] National Democratic Party of Liberia or NDPL [D. Nyandeh SIEH] National Patriotic Party or NPP [Jewel HOWARD TAYLOR] National Reformist Party or NRP [Maximillian T. W. DIABE] National Union for Democratic Progress or NUDP [Victor BARNEY] People's Unification Party or PUP [Isobe GBORKORKOLLIE] Unity Party or UP [Varney SHERMAN] United People's Party [MacDonald WENTO] Victory for Change Party [Marcus R. JONES]