A look at Liberia

This country report examines the political and economic environment in Africa’s oldest republic. Read the full brief below.

Country Synopsis

Liberia is Africa’s oldest republic, founded by freed American slaves in 1847. From its incorporation as a republic, the ruling class of elites, the Americo-Liberians, maintained a monopoly of the state and social mobility by ruling through patronage and by suppressing the indigenous population in all aspects of social, cultural, political and economic life. Following a series of coup d’etats that saw the demise of Americo-Liberian rule in 1979, decades of oppression and military rule and two civil wars, in which some of the continent’s most violent atrocities took place, Liberians elected Africa’s first female head of state, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, in free and fair elections in 2005.

Johnson Sirleaf is widely credited as a pragmatic leader who has ushered in relative stability. The country is recovering; however, the slow pace of economic benefits reaching the masses, endemic corruption, regional criminal networks, and the renewal of armed conflict in Côte d’Ivoire pose significant risks to this fragile democracy.

Legislative and presidential elections scheduled for October 2011 will be the first to take place since the establishment of democracy; possibly yielding Liberia’s first peaceful democratic transition of power.

Political Environment

Trust in the state and consensus around the country’s democratic values is consolidating. However, following decades of violent conflict most Liberian’s remain embroiled in a constant struggle for survival and are not able to actively participate in the country’s political life. Political parties are less likely to be issue and value based and often centre around the personalities of party leaders.

Major Political Parties

The House of Representatives and Senate contain representatives from some twelve political parties as well as independents. The Unity Party (UP), despite holding the Presidency, does not hold a majority in the legislature. The Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) holds the most seats in the lower house while the Coalition for the Transformation of Liberia (COTOL) holds the most seats in the Senate. The executive branch, under Johnson Sirleaf (UP), continues to dominate both the legislature and judiciary. Liberia’s political parties, many of which lack a clear ideology, are based on narrow interests or are personality-driven, hinder political compromise.

Other Key Political Stakeholders

The United Nations has been involved in Liberia since 1997. The current UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) has had a significant peacekeeping presence since 2003 while the UN international police (UNPOL) is primarily responsible for maintaining law and order as the country struggles to train and equip its own police and military. The United States is Liberia’s largest donor, contributing to democratisation programmes, security sector reform, education, reconstruction, and support for UNMIL.

Democracy

State Institutional Capacity

The capacity of state institutions, while having improved since 2003, remains weak and unable to meet the needs of Liberians.

Corruption is taken seriously, but remains an insidious problem that hinders the country’s growth and the government’s ability to effectively govern. High level civil servants accused of/found guilty of corruption have either been dismissed or prosecuted. However, the government’s commitment to anti-corruption has been questioned following the acquittal of Charles Gyude Bryant, former National Transitional Government of Liberia (NTGL) chairman, for corruption charges stemming from his tenure at the state oil refinery.

The judiciary is faced with significant inadequacies, including a lack of qualified personnel, insufficient funding and corruption. Meanwhile, the Governance Reform Commission, mandated to establish a national framework for legal and political reform, continues to seek greater decentralisation of power, regional participation and balancing national and regional interests . Once this process is complete, many Liberian’s, particularly those in the rural areas, would be able to elect representatives that are more accountable to rural needs, acquire greater access and control over local resources and act as a counterbalance toward political and economic policies mandated from Monrovia.

In 2010, the government established the Independent National Commission on Human Rights (INCHR), as mandated in the 2003 Comprehensive Peace Agreement. The INCHR is responsible for implementing the recommendations made in the 2009 Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) report. However, both the report and the government’s response have come under scrutiny. The report’s poor quality and lack of factual evidence about those recommended for prosecution and bans from public office, including President Johnson Sirleaf, have undermined its findings .The government has also been slow to act on the report’s findings, signalling a potential lack of political will aimed at reform.

Rights and Freedoms

A plethora of civil society organisations and interest groups have reorganised and continue to develop. While the press and media operate in freer conditions that under Charles Taylor and the NTGL, they are subject to harassment and arbitrary arrest and detention. Liberia passed a freedom of information bill in 2010, a significant improvement toward awarding those in the media adequate protection. However, the media lacks the resources needed to convey factual and impartial information to Liberians. As Liberia approaches a referendum and elections, the media struggles to cover candidates to the depth necessary, while remaining vulnerable to the ethical lapses that often occur in media environments where survival trumps professional journalistic practice .

Liberia’s conflict engendered new opportunities for women to take on new and more formal roles that had been dominated by men. While women make-up approximately one-third of local government officials, senior and junior senator posts, as well as the presidency, women face significant hurdles, both public and private. Women legislators in the lower house continue to push for a “fairness bill” which would require 30 per cent of the candidates running for legislative seats to be women. Finally, while the Constitution prohibits discrimination based on ethnicity, sex, creed, place of origin, disability, and political opinion, it enshrines discrimination based on race; explicitly stating that only “Negros” or those of “Negro descent” are entitled to citizenship and land ownership.

Economic Situation

Liberia’s economy has historically been dominated by external powers and influences. The economy relies heavily on the extraction of natural resources, particularly rubber and timber. It is also very dependent on foreign aid. The IMF has been heavily involved in rebuilding the formal economy, however, most employment is found within the informal sector. Approximately 80 per cent of the population is unemployed, with 75 per cent living on less than a dollar a day.

Elections

The 2005 elections were not held under Liberia’s constitution, but rather the Accra Comprehensive Peace Agreement in order to accommodate ad hoc arbitration mechanisms. The 2005 elections were largely peaceful. The presidential election led to a tense run-off race between Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and former football star George Weah. Despite an initial accusation of fraud alleged by Weah, he accepted the outcome as determined by the National Electoral Commission (NEC). The success of the general and presidential elections in October 2011, the first to be held under the Liberian Constitution, is heavily dependent on technical and financial support from donors. In 2009, a by-election, and subsequent run-off, was held in Montserrado County following the natural death of a Senator. The by-election was a litmus test for the NEC which, after initial problems, largely succeeded in staging the election under its own capacity. The by-election has engendered confidence in the NEC as Liberia approaches its constitutional referendum and general elections in 2011.

A constitutional referendum will be held on 23 August 2011. The referendum concerns four constitutional amendments passed by the legislature in 2010, including: an amendment that stipulates both the presidential and vice-presidential candidates must reside in Liberia for ten years prior to running for office; an increase in the age of mandatory retirement for judges to 75; that national elections will be held on the second Tuesday in November each year; and that all legislative elections will use a single-round first-past-the-post system while presidential elections will maintain the current two-round system.

Opportunities and Threats

Liberia’s problems, caused by decades of authoritarianism and violent conflict, have resulted in widespread unemployment, the destruction of the subsistence economy, and an increase in social tensions as former combatants attempt to reintegrate and ethnic and religious cleavages remain entrenched. Land disputes between returning land owners, IDPs and returning refugees have resulted in numerous reports of violence and death.

Parties with ties to former warlords have been largely marginalised by the ballot box. Yet, former warlords and spoilers are able to capitalise on pervasive poverty, poor education and the breakdown of social structures. Instability in neighbouring countries, particularly Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea, pervasive poverty in both urban and rural areas, the availability of arms and a significant number of former combatants that have not yet been reintegrated pose a serious risk to both Liberia and the region.