NATIONAL ELECTION ARCHIVE
Liberia’s 2011 presidential and legislative elections
Liberia held presidential, House of Representatives and Senate elections on 11 October 2011. The presidential contest proceeded to a runoff on 8 November after no candidate won the constitutional majority in the first round.
Presidential election
First round — 11 October 2011
- Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Joseph Nyuma Boakai — Unity Party — 530,020 votes (43.9%)
- Winston A. Tubman and George Manneh Weah — CDC — 394,370 votes (32.7%)
- Prince Yormie Johnson and James Laveli Supuwood — NUDP — 139,786 votes (11.6%)
- Charles Walker Brumskine and Franklin O. Siakor — Liberty Party — 65,800 votes (5.5%)
- Kennedy Gbleyah Sandy and Alloycious Dennis Wolloh — LTP — 13,612 votes (1.1%)
- Other candidates combined — 63,054 votes (5.2%)
The NEC recorded 1,206,642 valid votes, 82,074 invalid votes and 1,288,716 total ballots. Turnout was approximately 71.6% of 1,798,930 registered voters.
Runoff — 8 November 2011
- Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Joseph Nyuma Boakai — Unity Party — 607,618 votes (90.71%)
- Winston A. Tubman and George Manneh Weah — CDC — 62,207 votes (9.29%)
The runoff recorded 694,412 total ballots, or 38.60% of registered voters. The CDC called for a boycott after disputing the first-round process; Tubman nevertheless remained on the ballot. The NEC certified Sirleaf and Boakai as president-elect and vice president-elect.
House of Representatives
All 73 House seats were contested—nine more than in 2005 following reapportionment after the 2008 census. No party won a majority. The Unity Party became the largest bloc with 24 seats, followed by the CDC with 11, Liberty Party with 7, NUDP with 6, and National Democratic Coalition with 5. Nine independents were elected, while six additional parties shared the remaining seats.
Senate
One nine-year Senate seat was contested in each of the 15 counties, replacing the junior senators elected to six-year terms in 2005. The elected-seat distribution was:
- Unity Party: 4
- National Patriotic Party: 4
- CDC: 2
- APD: 1
- Liberia Destiny Party: 1
- National Democratic Coalition: 1
- NUDP: 1
- Independent: 1
Electoral context and observation
The election followed an August 2011 constitutional referendum in which none of four proposed amendments reached the required ratification threshold. Domestic and international observers reported a generally peaceful and transparent first-round process while also documenting administrative problems and political disputes. The Carter Center reported no evidence of systematic fraud or manipulation in the tally process.