At Stake in this Election: 

• The Presidency of Liberia 

Government Structure: 

• Chief of State: President George Manneh WEAH (since 22 January 2018) 

• Head of Government: President George Manneh WEAH (since 22 January 2018) 

• Assembly: bicameral National Assembly with a 30-seat Senate and a 73-seat House of Representatives 

Electoral System:  

• The President is directly elected by absolute majority vote in up to two rounds. The President may serve up to two 6-year terms. 

• In the Senate, all 30 members are directly elected from 2-seat constituencies by simple majority vote. Senate elections are staggered such that, for each constituency, one seat is contested, then then next is contested three years later, then there is a 6-year break, then the cycle repeats. All members serve 9-year terms. 

• In the House of Representatives, all members are directly elected by plurality vote in single-seat constituencies. Members serve 6-year terms. 

Last Election: 

In the first round, incumbent George Weah (CDC) narrowly lead the field with 43.83% of the vote, followed by Joseph Boakai (UP) with 43.44%. Voter turnout was 79%.

Key Deadlines:

• Candidate filing deadline: 14 July 2023 

• Voter registration deadline: split into two phases depending on county of residence 

• 9 April 2023 for Montserrado, Grand Bassa, Grand Cape Mount, Margibi, Bomi, and Gbarpolu counties 

• 11 May 2023 for all other counties 

Main Candidates in this Election: 

• George Manneh WEAH 

• Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) 

• Joseph BOAKAI 

  • Unity Party (UP)

Population and Registered Voters: 

• Population: 5,506,280 (2023 est.) 

• Registered Voters: 2,471,617 (2023) 

Gender Data: 

• Female Population: 2,753,140 (2023 est.) 

• CEDAW Status: Ratified (by accession) 17 July 1984 

• Gender Quota:  Yes, for House elections, party lists must be composed of at least 30% of candidates of each gender. 

• Female Candidates in this election: No 

• Number of Female Legislators (pre-election): 8 out of 73 (11%) in the House of Representatives, 2 out of 30 (6.7%) in the Senate 

• Human Development Index (HDI) Position: 0.481, Low, Rank 178 (2021) 

• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: 38.3 (2023) 

Disability Data: 

• CRPD Status: Signed 30 March 2007, Ratified 26 July 2012 

• Projected population with a disability: 825,942 (2023 est.) 

IFES Resources: 

• Does IFES have a presence in Liberia: No 

• Election Access: Yes 

• Election Judgements: Yes, 5 judgments and 12 resources