|  Presidential and parliamentary elections are taking place in Liberia on October 11, 2005. The country has been led by a transitional government since October 2003—which took office following the resignation and departure into exile of President Charles Taylor in August 2003, as part of a deal to end the country's second civil war—and these elections will mark the end of the transition.
Frances Johnson-Morris, the chairwoman of the National Elections Commission (NEC), announced the October 11 date on February 7, 2005, and said that results would be announced no later than October 26. She also said that candidates would have until mid-August to apply to run, and that a registration campaign for eligible voters would be held from April 25 to May 21.1
As of February, 18 parties had registered. 22 people registered as president candidates, including football (soccer) star George Weah, considered by many to be the favorite in the election;2 his popularity is at least partially a manifestation of widespread dissatisfaction with Liberia's politicians. Weah, who had been the subject of a petition published in September 2004 urging him to run,3 announced his candidacy in mid-November 2004 and received a hero's welcome when he arrived in Monrovia later in the month.4 LURD rebel leader Sekou Conneh is also a notable contender.
The lower house of the new parliament will have 64 seats; each of Liberia's 15 counties will have two seats, and the remaining 34 seats will allotted proportionally based on voter registration.5 The Senate will have 30 seats.
These will be Liberia's first elections since a victory by Taylor and his National Patriotic Party in the July 1997 elections, which some did not consider fully free and fair. The chairman of the transitional government, Gyude Bryant, and other members of the transitional government will not run, according to the terms of the peace deal.
On August 13, the election commission published a list of 22 presidential candidates who are cleared to run; six candidates were rejected, but Weah was cleared to stand despite complaints that he had adopted French citizenship. The Senate seats will be contested by 206 candidates and the seats in the lower house will be contested by 503 candidates. Campaigning for the elections began on August 15.
In late September, the Supreme Court ruled that two excluded presidential candidates, Marcus Jones and Cornelius Hunter, and an excluded legislative candidate could register to run; this ruling created the possibility that the elections would have to be postponed in order to reprint ballot papers. However, these candidates later withdrew their bids, so the elections will go ahead on schedule.6
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