Archive status: Context record — no regular nationwide election took place between the April 1980 coup and the October 1985 elections.
Why the election timeline pauses
On 12 April 1980, a military coup overthrew President William R. Tolbert Jr., ended Liberia’s First Republic, suspended the 1847 Constitution and dissolved the national legislature. The People’s Redemption Council governed during the interruption, so the archive records this period as a break in constitutional electoral government rather than as an election.
Constitutional transition
A National Constitution Commission was appointed in 1981 to prepare a new constitutional framework. Voters considered the proposed constitution in the referendum of 3 July 1984. The approved charter became the foundation of Liberia’s Second Republic and restored a bicameral legislature.
Return to nationwide elections
Presidential and legislative elections were held on 15 October 1985 with four political parties participating. The Inter-Parliamentary Union records these as the first elections for all parliamentary seats since the legislature was dissolved in April 1980. The conduct and announced outcome were disputed, so the detailed election record should be read together with independent historical and legal sources.
Related archive records
- 1975 General Election
- 1984 Constitutional Referendum
- 1985 Presidential and Legislative Elections
- 1989–1997 Electoral Interruption and Postwar Transition
Sources
- Library of Congress — History of Liberia timeline
- Law Library of Congress — constitutional and governmental background
- Inter-Parliamentary Union — Liberia elections, 15 October 1985
- National Elections Commission — electoral context
Editorial note: This page documents an interruption and transition in the election chronology. It does not treat the military change of government as an election.