Liberia calls for electoral reform ahead of 2029
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on The Liberian Investigator
Civil society organisations and governance actors are calling for electoral reform in Liberia to strengthen the independence of the electoral commission, women’s representation and access to voting. The proposals were made on 12 November during a national dialogue in Monrovia, reports The Liberian Investigator.
Participants in the National Stakeholders’ Dialogue on Electoral Reform identified four priorities for Liberia’s electoral system: women’s representation, voting accessibility for people with disabilities, constituency boundaries and the allocation of legislative seats, as well as the independence and effectiveness of the National Elections Commission (NEC), according to The Liberian Investigator. The recommendations were made on Thursday 12 November in Monrovia ahead of the 2029 elections.
Pilate Johnson, administrator of the Liberia Elections Observation Network (LEON), said that the 2023 general elections had produced recommendations from the NEC, national observation organisations and regional and international missions. He called for a national process based on data, dialogue, consensus and voters' experience, according to The Liberian Investigator.
Pilate Johnson also noted that women’s participation remained limited, despite provisions requiring political parties to ensure that neither sex represents less than 30% of their governing bodies and candidate lists. He called for the removal of obstacles preventing people with disabilities from exercising their right to vote independently, according to The Liberian Investigator.
The dialogue was organised by the Liberia Elections Observation Network and the Elections Coordinating Committee, with technical support from the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy through the Liberia Electoral Support Project, managed by the United Nations Development Programme and supported by the European Union, Ireland, Sweden and UN Women. It follows work undertaken after the Liberian electoral commission’s strategy for 2029, launched on 6 October 2026.
