# 2017 Liberian general election

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, but was postponed after LP standard-bearer Cllr. Charles Brumskine, in third place, challenged the result in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court dismissed the challenge, which would have forced a re-run of the first round had it been successful, and the second round was held on 26 December. Weah emerged victorious with 60% of the vote.
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.

## Electoral system

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

## 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.
* Joseph Boakai, Vice President since January 2006
* Charles Brumskine, Leader of the Liberty Party and former President Pro Temp of the Senate
* MacDella Cooper, philanthropist
* Alexander B. Cummings, former executive vice president and chief administrative officer of Coca-Cola
* Prince Yormie Johnson, former rebel leader
* Joseph Mills Jones, leader of the Movement for Economic Empowerment and former Governor of the Central Bank of Liberia
* Richard Miller, businessman
* Benoni Urey, businessman
* George Weah, former footballer who was defeated by Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in the 2005 election
* MacDonald A. Wento, United People's Party
* Jeremiah Whapoe, businessman

## Opinion polls

| Pollster | Date | Sample size | Boakai Unity | Weah CDC | Johnson FDUP | Urey All Liberian | Brumskine Liberty | Cooper ULD | Cummings ANC | 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 monetization of the campaign, where a culture of in-kind and financial hand-outs to communities prevails."

## Results
### President

| Candidate | Candidate | Running mate | Party | First round | First round | Second round | Second round |
| Candidate | Candidate | Running mate | Party | Votes | % | Votes | % |
| | George Weah | Jewel Taylor | Coalition for Democratic Change | 596,037 | 38.37 | 732,185 | 61.54 |
| | Joseph Boakai | Emmanuel James Nuquay | Unity Party | 446,716 | 28.76 | 457,579 | 38.46 |
| | Charles Brumskine | Harrison S. Karnwea Sr. | Liberty Party | 149,495 | 9.62 | | |
| | Prince Johnson | Audrian R. Smith-Forbes | Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction | 127,666 | 8.22 | | |
| | Alexander B. Cummings Jr. | Jeremiah Sulunteh | Alternative National Congress | 112,067 | 7.21 | | |
| | Benoni Urey | Alexander Nyonkon Duopu | All Liberian Party | 24,246 | 1.56 | | |
| | Joseph Mills Jones | Samuel B. Reeves Jr. | Movement for Economic Empowerment | 12,854 | 0.83 | | |
| | MacDella Cooper | William R. Slocum | Liberia Restoration Party | 11,645 | 0.75 | | |
| | Henry Boimah Fahnbulleh | Marcus S.G. Dahn | Liberian People's Party | 11,560 | 0.74 | | |
| | Oscar Cooper | Wonderr Koryenen Freeman | Independent | 10,381 | 0.67 | | |
| | MacDonald A. Wento | John N. Bleah | United People's Party | 8,968 | 0.58 | | |
| | Simeon C. M. Freeman | William T. Knowlden | Movement for Progressive Change | 6,682 | 0.43 | | |
| | Isaac Gbombadee Wiles | Richmond D. K. Yarkpah | Democratic Justice Party | 6,379 | 0.41 | | |
| | Aloysius William Kpadeh | John S. Partor | Independent | 5,922 | 0.38 | | |
| | Kennedy Gbleyah Sandy | Victoria Morris Tweh | Liberia Transformation Party | 5,343 | 0.34 | | |
| | George Sluwer Dweh Sr. | Annie Y. Tuazama | Redemption Democratic Congress | 4,935 | 0.32 | | |
| | William Wiah Tuider | Dave L. Dixon | New Liberia Party | 4,920 | 0.32 | | |
| | Jeremiah Z. Whapoe | Isaac D. G. Flowers | Vision for Liberia Transformation | 3,946 | 0.25 | | |
| | Yarkpajuwur N. Mator | Ruth L. Kollie | Independent | 1,940 | 0.12 | | |
| | Wendell J. E. McIntosh | Manjerngie Cecelia Ndebe | Change Democratic Action | 1,646 | 0.11 | | |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 1,553,348 | 100.00 | 1,189,764 | 100.00 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | 1,553,348 | 94.61 | 1,189,764 | 97.67 |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 88,574 | 5.39 | 28,360 | 2.33 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,641,922 | 100.00 | 1,218,124 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 2,183,629 | 75.19 | 2,183,629 | 55.78 |
| Source: NEC NEC ||||||||

### House of Representatives

| Party | 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 |
| Total | Total | 1,539,502 | 100.00 | 73 | 0 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 1,539,502 | 94.86 | | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 83,427 | 5.14 | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 1,622,929 | 100.00 | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 2,183,629 | 74.32 | | |
| Source: NEC, NEC, Carter Center ||||||