The Unity Party (UP) is a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

that was started in 1984 by Edward B. Kesselly, also its first standard bearer. The Unity Party was founded in Buchanan,

Grand Bassa County Grand Bassa is a county in the west-central portion of the West African nation of Liberia. One of 15 counties that comprise the first-level of administrative division in the nation, it has eight districts. Buchanan serves as the capital with th ...

, on 27 July 1985. The Unity Party participated in the first elections after the 1980 coup, running against President

Samuel Doe Samuel Kanyon Doe (6 May 1951 – 9 September 1990) was a Liberian politician and military officer who served as the 21st President of Liberia from 1986 to 1990. He ruled Liberia as Chairman of the People's Redemption Council (PRC) from 1980 ...

in October 1985. The party has remained active in Liberian politics since and is the current ruling party following the

2023 Liberian general election General elections were held in Liberia on 10 October 2023 to elect the President of Liberia, President, House of Representatives of Liberia, House of Representatives and half of the Senate of Liberia, Senate. Incumbent president George Weah was ...

. In the

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...

held on 19 July 1997, the UP presidential candidate

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Ellen Eugenia Johnson Sirleaf (born 29 October 1938) is a Liberian politician who served as the 24th president of Liberia from 2006 to 2018. Sirleaf was the first elected female head of state in Africa. Sirleaf was born in Monrovia to a Gol ...

won 9.58% of the vote. The party won seven of 64 seats in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

and three of 26 available in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

. While international observers deemed the polls administratively free and transparent, they noted that it had taken place in an atmosphere of intimidation because most voters believed that former rebel leader and

National Patriotic Party The National Patriotic Party (NPP) is a political party in Liberia. It was formed in 1997 by members of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia following the end of the First Liberian Civil War. History The party contested the 1997 general elec ...

(NPP) candidate Charles Taylor would return to

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

if defeated. Unity Party candidate Sirleaf won the 2005 presidential elections, defeating

George Weah George Manneh Oppong Weah (born 1 October 1966) is a Liberian politician and former professional Association football, footballer who served as the 25th president of Liberia from 2018 to 2024. Before his election for the presidency, Weah served ...

of the

Congress for Democratic Change Congress for Democratic Change (abbreviated CDC) is a Liberian political party formed by supporters of George Weah's during the 2005 presidential campaign. History During the 11 October 2005 elections, Weah placed first in the presidential pol ...

(CDC) in a runoff. The party also won three seats in the

and 8 in the

. The merger of the

Liberia Unification Party The Liberia Unification Party was a political party in Liberia. The party fielded candidates in the 11 October 2005 elections as part of the four-party Coalition for the Transformation of Liberia (COTOL). In the 19 July 1997 legislative electio ...

and the

Liberian Action Party The Liberian Action Party (LAP) was a political party in Liberia. In the country's 1985 elections, LAP candidate Jackson Doe was the leading challenger to incumbent Head of State Samuel Doe. Official results showed that Samuel received a narro ...

into the Unity Party on 1 April 2009 substantially increased its representation in the Legislature. The party lost in the runoff of the

2017 Liberian general election General elections were held in Liberia on 10 October 2017 to elect the President and House of Representatives. No candidate won a majority in the first round of the presidential vote, so the top two finishers – CDC standard-bearer Amb. George ...

to ex-footballer and previous runoff candidate

. On 13 January 2018, the party expelled President

from the party for campaigning for and with Weah against her own Vice President,

Joseph Boakai Joseph Nyumah Boakai (born 30 November 1944) is a Liberian politician who has served as the 26th president of Liberia since 2024. He previously served as the 29th vice president of Liberia from 2006 to 2018, under President Ellen Johnson Sirlea ...

, who was campaigning on the party ticket. In 2023, the party won the

, defeating the incumbent George Weah by less than 21,000 votes—making it the closest runoff in Liberia's electoral history.

Party Leadership

Former Vice President Boakai remains the Standard Bearer of the Party and was the leading opposition contender for the 2023 Presidential elections. Hon. Boakai was instrumental in the formation of the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) that brought together the four largest opposition political parties: the All Liberian Party (ALP), the Alternative National Congress (ANC), the Liberty Party (LP), and the Unity Party (UP) to form an opposition bloc against Pres. Weah's Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC). The Party is constitutionally led by its chairman, Amin Modad, who was elected in September 2020 with over 62% majority after defeating veteran politician Sen. Conmany Wesseh and others. Modad, a former representative to the

World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland that regulates and facilitates international trade. Governments use the organization to establish, revise, and enforce the rules that g ...

, cited his business background as evidence of his suitability for the role.

Electoral history

Presidential elections

House of Representatives elections

Senate elections

References

External links

Weah cries foul in Liberia's presidential play-off
Sam Knight and agencies, ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

'' Online, November 10, 2005 {{Liberian political parties __FORCETOC__ Political parties in Liberia Political parties established in 1984 Buchanan, Liberia