At stake in this election:       

• 15 seats in Liberia’s Senate

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Ellen JOHNSON-SIRLEAF (since 16 January 2006)
• Head of Government: President Ellen JOHNSON-SIRLEAF (since 16 January 2006)
• Assembly: Liberia has a bicameral National Assembly consisting of the Senate with 30 seats and the House of Representatives with 73 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by absolute majority vote through a two-round system to serve a 6-year term.
• In the Senate, 15 members are elected by plurality vote in multi-member constituencies to serve 9-year terms and 15 members are elected by plurality vote in multi-member constituencies to serve 6-year terms.*
• In the House of Representatives 73 members are elected by plurality vote in single-member constituencies to serve 6-year terms.

* In the 2005 elections, two Senators were elected from each of Liberia's 15 counties. The senatorial candidates receiving the highest number of votes in each of the 15 counties were considered Senior Senators and served a 9 year term. The senatorial candidates with the next highest number of votes in each county were considered Junior Senators and had terms of 6 years. However, since 2011 every senator elected serves a 9 year term, and this will also hold in the December 16^th election.

Election Note:

On Tuesday 16 December 2014, Liberia will hold an election for the Senate.[i] The election was postponed in October 2014 due to an Ebola outbreak.[ii]

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party:  Alliance for Peace and Democracy (APD)
  Leader: Marcus S. G. DAHN; Seats in last election: 2.
• Party: Alternative National Congress (ANC)
  Leader: Orishil GOULD; Seats in last election: 0.
• Party: Congress for Democratic Change (CDC)
  Leader: George WEAH; Seats in last election: 3.
• Party: Liberia Destiny Party (LDP)
  Leader: Nathaniel BARNES; Seats in last election: 1.
• Party: Liberty Party (LP)
  Leader: J. Fonati KOFFA; Seats in last election: 1.
• Party: Liberia Transformation Party (LTP)
  Leader: Julius SUKU; Seats in last election: 0.
• Party: Movement for Progressive Change (MPC)
  Leader: Simeon FREEMAN; Seats in last election: 0
• Party: National Democratic Coalition (NDC)
  Leader: Dew MAYSON; Seats in last election: 1.
• Party: National Democratic Party of Liberia (NDPL)
  Leader: D. Nyandeh SIEH; Seats in last election: 1.
• Party: National Patriotic Party (NPP)
  Leader: Theophilus C. GOULD; Seats in last election: 6.
• Party: National Reformist Party (NRP)
  Leader: Maximillian T.W. DIABE; Seats in last election: 0
• Party: National Union for Democratic Progress (NUDP)
  Leader: Victor BARNEY; Seats in last election: 2.
• Party: Unity Party (UP)
  Leader: Varney SHERMAN; Seats in last election: 10.

Last election:

• The last election to the Senate in Liberia was held on 11 October 2011.[iii] Turnout was 71.64 percent and 1,288,716 of 1,798,930 people casted ballots.[iv] The United Party (UP) won 10 seats, while the National Patriotic Party (NPP) won 6.[v] Results can be found here.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 4,092,310 (July 2014 est)[vi]
• Registered Voters: 1,903,229

Gender Data:

• Female Population: 2,052,140 (July 2014 est)[vii]
• Number of female registered voters: 917,039 (48%)
• Is Liberia a signatory to CEDAW: No.[viii]
• Has Liberia ratified CEDAW: Yes (17 July 1984)[ix]
• Gender Quota: No.[x]
• Female Candidates in this election: N/A
• Number of Female Legislators: 0 (0%) of 30 seats in Liberia’s Senate. 8 (11%) of 73 seats in Liberia’s House of Representatives.[xi]
• Human Development Index (HDI) Position: 175[xii]
• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Ranking: 62^nd out of 86 non-OECD countries (latest rankings are from 2012)[xiii]