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Liberia (highlighted above), Africa's oldest republic, will hold its first presidential and legislative elections in almost two decades Oct. 11, 2005. The Carter Center's Liberia Election Observation Project, officially launched in July, will continue through November to monitor all post-election developments. Learn more about the Center's work in Liberia.

After a generation of civil war and instability, Liberia's citizens will go to the polls Oct. 11, 2005, to elect a president and legislative representatives in what could be the first genuine democratic elections in Liberia in almost two decades.

The Carter Center, involved in the West African country's peace and democracy efforts since 1991, has actively engaged in the 2005 electoral process in Liberia, and will organize an international observer delegation in partnership with the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) to monitor the October election.

The 2005 elections represent a historic opportunity for Liberia and its people, according to Carter Center Democracy Program Director David Carroll.

"If successful, the Oct. 11 elections could provide a critical foundation for Liberians to strengthen democratic governance and move beyond the shadows of the civil war," he said.






PRE-ELECTION PREPARATIONS
The elections follow a two-year transition for the country. In August 2003, a comprehensive peace agreement ended 14 years of civil war. It also led to the resignation of President Charles Taylor, who was exiled to Nigeria. In October 2003, The National Transitional Government of Liberia assumed control, with Gyude Bryant as interim leader. Composed of rebel, government, and civil society groups, the transitional government was given a two-year mandate to oversee efforts to rebuild Liberia and to steer the country towards elections.

"The Carter Center has been among a number of international groups working with the transitional government during this interim period," according to Tom Crick, Carter Center senior political advisor. "While the Center and others have focused on electoral assistance and observation, the U.N. has maintained a large peacekeeping force, and the international community has worked with the Government of Liberia to negotiate an economic governance package to guide development," Crick said.

The Carter Center opened an office in Monrovia in June 2005, to launch its ongoing Liberia Election Observation Project, supported by grants from Development Cooperation Ireland and the United States Agency for International Development. The project has included the deployment of a team of long-term observers throughout the country to monitor electoral conditions in the run-up to the Oct. 11 elections.

Carroll said the outlook appears good for competitive elections in Liberia.

"In spite of enormous logistical challenges and post-conflict conditions, electoral preparations to date have been good and the prospect for competitive elections seems high," Carroll said.

A Carter Center delegation visited Liberia in August in advance of the campaign period, and in September the Center joined a second delegation in partnership with the National Democratic Institute. During the week of the elections, the Center and NDI will deploy short-term international observers throughout the country. A small team of observers will remain through the end of November to monitor all post-election developments.

In addition, The Carter Centre U.K. - an independent registered organization in the United Kingdom that closely collaborates with the Atlanta-based Carter Center's peace and health efforts - joined with Electoral Reform International Services (ERIS) and the European Union to implement The European Commission Bilateral Election Programme in Liberia in March 2005. This separate project provides technical assistance for voter and civic education, domestic election monitoring, and for Liberian political parties in Monrovia and in rural Liberia.

• Issue No. 6, Nov. 2, 2005
• Issue No. 5, Sept. 26, 2005
• Issue No. 4, Sept. 16, 2005
• Issue No. 3, Aug. 26, 2005
• Issue No. 2, Aug. 12, 2005
• Issue No. 1, Aug. 4, 2005

• 28 August 2005
  Pre-Election Statement on the 2005 Liberian National Elections, Aug. 28, 2005
• 15 August 2005
  Liberia Elections: President Carter Calls for Clean Campaign
• 25 July 2005
  Carter Center Observers Arrive in Liberia in Advance of October Elections
• 30 June 2005
  Stories from Liberia: Field Officer Reflects on Election Prep in a War-Torn Land
• 19 August 2003
  Statement on the Liberian Peace Agreement by Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter
  

President Carter made numerous trips to the region to meet with interim governments as well as faction leaders in the conflict, to assist the country's movement toward peace and democracy. Subsequently, Center staff undertook projects to protect human rights, strengthen the capacity of Liberian NGOs and the independent media, and to support a democratic electoral process (Read more about the Center's work in Liberia.)

Following the 1996 Abuja II Peace Accords, the Center observed the July 1997, special elections. Many Liberians told observers they saw the election as a choice between Charles Taylor and war, and it is one of Liberia's tragedies that this fragile hope for peace was betrayed. In 2000, the Center closed its office in Monrovia, as President Carter publicly criticized President Taylor for no longer sharing the goals of a democratic society and for inciting conflict in the region.