1997 Liberian general election

1997 Liberian general election

← 1985 19 July 1997 2005 →

Presidential election

Nominee Charles Taylor Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Party NPP UP Popular vote 468,443 59,557 Percentage 75.33% 9.58%

President before election Ruth Perry Independent Elected President Charles Taylor NPP

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General elections were held in Liberia on 19 July 1997 as part of the 1996 peace agreement ending the First Liberian Civil War. The presidency, as well as all seats in the House of Representatives and the Senate were up for election. Voter turnout was around 89%.^[1] Former rebel leader Charles Taylor and his National Patriotic Party (NPP) won the election with 75.3% of the vote, giving it about three-quarters of the legislative seats according to the proportional representation system.^[2] Taylor was inaugurated as president on 2 August 1997.

Taylor campaigned on, among other slogans, "He killed my ma, he killed my pa, but I will vote for him."^[3] The elections were overseen by the United Nations' peacekeeping mission, United Nations Observer Mission in Liberia, along with a contingent from the Economic Community of West African States. Taylor's closest competitor, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, collected only 10 percent of the vote.