True Whig Party
This article needs to be updated.(December 2019) |
True Whig Party Liberian Whig Party | |
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Americo-Liberians | |
Seats in the Senate | 0 / 30
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Seats in the House | 0 / 73
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Party flag | |
The True Whig Party (TWP), also known as the Liberian Whig Party (LWP), is the oldest
Initially, its ideology was strongly influenced by that of the United States Whig Party (from which it took its name). Much of the TWP's support came from the Americo-Liberian community who held an influential position over Liberian politics and society. The TWP's long term leader and President William Tubman was widely regarded as the father of modern Liberia.
The TWP fell out of power following the 1980 Liberian coup d'état in which many of its leading members died or fled, ending its dominant position. The TWP ceased to be officially recognized following the coup, although it was never disbanded and continued as a rump party. The party went on to participate in the unsuccessful Coalition for the Transformation of Liberia (COTOL) ahead of the 2005 general election before de-coalition and winning fewer votes at the 2017 elections.
History
The True Whig Party was founded in the township of
The True Whig Party was initially formed as an alliance of "mostly dark-skinned upriver planters and the dark-skinned faction among the coastal merchants", opposed to the lighter-skinned mulatto elite represented by the Republican Party.[8] The party first came to power after Edward James Roye won the 1869 Liberian general election and was sworn in as president the following year. The Republican Party had tended to be supported by Americo-Liberians of mixed African and European ancestry while darker skinned Americo-Liberians initially rallied around the TWP,[9] however as the Republican Party began to decline in influence most Americo-Liberians transferred their support to the TWP.
After
The party was accused of endorsing systems of forced labour. In 1930 they sent "contract migrant laborers", under conditions tantamount to slavery, to Spanish colonists on Fernando Pó in Spanish Guinea (now Bioko in Equatorial Guinea).[10] This led to an investigation by the League of Nations, a five-year U.S. and British boycott of Liberia followed by the resignation of President Charles D. B. King. Despite this dispute, the West generally considered the True Whig Party as a stabilizing, unthreatening force in the period after. The US and Britain later invested extensively in the nation under William Tubman's long period of rule (1944–1971).
Under the leadership and Presidency of William Tubman, the TWP took a pro-American stance in international policy, encouraged foreign investment, promoted industrialization and embarked on a mass modernization program of Liberia's domestic infrastructure. This led to a period of economic prosperity during the 1960s, was credited with putting Liberia on the map and establishing the country as a modern power in Africa. Although opponents of Tubman's government accused it of being authoritarian, Liberia was widely regarded internationally as being a stable and successful nation in the region whilst other African states were undergoing civil wars and political strife.[11]
Following Tubman's death in 1971, the TWP leadership and Presidency was taken over by
The party lost power after Tolbert was killed in a military coup on 12 April 1980 by a group of AFL soldiers led by Samuel Doe, who formed the People's Redemption Council (PRC). They had opposed Tolbert's clampdown on the political opposition and what they saw as his tolerance of corruption. Many high-ranking officials of the TWP such as E. Reginald Townsend, Frank E. Tolbert (William's brother) and Cecil Dennis were executed, depleting much of its executive leadership whilst others fled the country. The new government subsequently restricted activities of the TWP and it lost its official status; the vast majority of its members and supporters left the party, but other TWP members vowed to continue and it struggled on as a minor rump party without official recognition. Members of indigenous groups began to exert more political power following the coup, in keeping with their dominance in number of the national population, further diminishing the TWP's support which had come from the formerly more influential but demographically smaller Americo-Liberian population. Doe's government also realigned Liberia's foreign policy back to a pro-US position, making it harder to gain international recognition as an opposition group with fears over communist expansionism and the rise of Soviet backed client regimes in Africa during the Cold War. In 1985, all political opposition (including the TWP) were banned following a coup attempt against Doe.[13]
Legacy
In 1991, the party faced a challenge from a new group, which identified as the "National True Whig Party of Liberia." TWP chairman Momo Fahnbulleh Jones threatened legal action to induce the newly founded party to change its name.[14]
The TWP was officially reconstituted in 2005 under the leadership of Peter Vuku.[13]
The TWP participated in the 2005 general election as part of the Coalition for the Transformation of Liberia (COTOL). The COTOL coalition won eight seats but was dissolved the next year after some of its members left to join the ruling Unity Party. The TWP registered to compete as an individual party for the House of Representatives in the 2011 general election, while endorsing President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf's bid for a second term at Presidential level.[15] However, the party had strife over its leadership five months before the election,[16] and it failed to nominate any candidate for any legislative seat and did not compete as a result.
In 2013, members of the TWP became embroiled in a dispute over Edward J. Roye Building in Monrovia which had been constructed as the party headquarters. The building had been appropriated by the Liberian General Services Agency which provoked anger among TWP members who stated they are still the rightful owners and that Chairman of the Council of State David D. Kpormakpor had decreed that it should be returned to the TWP's possession.[17][13]
In 2015, the TWP appointed former government information minister Reginald Goodridge as its new chairman and was successfully registered to stand as an individual party for the 2017 election but ended up gaining 0.96% of the vote.[13][18]
Ideology
The True Whig Party initially sought to emulate the policies of the American
Electoral history
Presidential elections
Election | Party candidate | Votes | % | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1869 | Edward James Roye | Elected | ||
1877 | Anthony W. Gardiner | Elected | ||
1879 | Elected | |||
1881 | Elected | |||
1883 | Supported Hilary R. W. Johnson | Elected | ||
1885 | Hilary R. W. Johnson | 1,438 | 62.25% | Elected |
1887 | Elected | |||
1889 | Elected | |||
1891 | Joseph James Cheeseman | Elected | ||
1893 | Elected | |||
1895 | Elected | |||
1897 | William D. Coleman | Elected | ||
1899 | Elected | |||
1901 | Garreston W. Gibson
|
Elected | ||
1903 | Arthur Barclay | Elected | ||
1905 | Elected | |||
1907 | Elected | |||
1911 | Daniel Edward Howard | Elected | ||
1915 | Elected | |||
1919 | Charles D. B. King | Elected | ||
1923 | 45,000 | Elected | ||
1927 | 243,000 | 96.43% | Elected | |
1931 | Edwin Barclay | Elected | ||
1939 | Elected | |||
1943 | William Tubman | Elected | ||
1951 | Elected | |||
1955 | 244,873 | 99.5% | Elected | |
1959 | 530,566 | 100% | Elected | |
1963 | 565,044 | 100% | Elected | |
1967 | 566,684 | 100% | Elected | |
1971 | 714,005 | 100% | Elected | |
1975 | William Tolbert | 750,000 | 100% | Elected |
2005 | Supported Varney Sherman (COTOL) | 76,403 | 7.8% | Lost |
2011 | Supported Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (UP) | 607,618 | 90.7% | Elected |
House of Representatives elections
Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Position |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1955 | 244,873 | 99.5% | 29 / 29
|
New | 1st |
1959 | No data | ||||
1963 | No data | ||||
1967 | No data | ||||
1971 | No data | 52 / 52
|
23 | 1st | |
1975 | 750,000 | 100% | 71 / 71
|
19 | 1st |
1985 | Did not contest | 0 / 64
|
71 | — | |
1997 | Did not contest | 0 / 64
|
0 | — | |
2005 | 137,897 | 14.74% as part of COTOL |
8 / 64
|
8 | 2nd |
2011 | Did not contest | 0 / 73
|
8 | — | |
2017 | 14,723 | 0.96% | 0 / 73
|
0 | 18th |
2023 | 8,574 | 0.47% as part of RA |
0 / 30
|
0 | 25th |
Senate elections
Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Position |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1955 | 244,873 | 99.5% | 10 / 10
|
New | 1st |
1959 | No data | ||||
1963 | No data | ||||
1967 | No data | ||||
1971 | No data | ||||
1975 | 750,000 | 100% | 18 / 18
|
8 | 1st |
1985 | Did not contest | 0 / 26
|
18 | — | |
1997 | Did not contest | 0 / 64
|
0 | — | |
2005 | 232,636 | 13.76% as part of COTOL |
7 / 30
|
7 | 2nd |
2011 | Did not contest | 0 / 30
|
7 | — | |
2014 | Did not contest | 0 / 30
|
0 | — | |
2020 | 9,577 | 1.09% as part of RA |
0 / 30
|
0 | 6th |
2023 | 6,552 | 0.36% as part of RA |
0 / 73
|
0 | 14th |
See also
References
- ^ a b Carl Patrick Burrowes (2004). Power and Press Freedom in Liberia, 1830-1970. Africa World Press. p. 312.
- ^ a b "Liberia Country Study: The True Whig Ascendancy" Global Security
- S2CID 154624186.
- ISBN 978-1-57958-245-6.
- ^ Donald A. Ranard, "Liberians: An Introduction to their History and Culture" Archived 2015-04-09 at the Wayback Machine, Center for Applied Linguistics, April 2005
- ^ Carl Patrick Burrowes (2004) Power and Press Freedom in Liberia, 1830-1970: The Impact of Globalization and Civil Society on Media-government Relations, Africa World Press, p85
- ^ Monrovia – Masonic Grand Lodge
- ISBN 1558151648.
- ^ Tue (7 August 2014). "Whither, Party Politics In Liberia?". Faily Observer. Archived from the original on 11 September 2016. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
- ^ Report of the International Commission of Inquiry into The Existence of Slavery and Forced Labor in the Republic of Liberia. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1931.
- ^ a b Otayek, René. "Libéria," Encyclopédie Universalis, 1999 Edition.
- ^ Flomo, J. Patrick. "Liberia: Two–Party Electoral System Is the Best Option". Archived from the original on 23 August 2011. Retrieved 29 January 2010.
- ^ a b c d "THE TWIN TOWERS OF MONROVIA". February 2016. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
- ^ "True Whig Party To Sue If...", The Eye, 23 July 1991: pp. 7/8
- ^ Kwanue, C.Y. (17 June 2011). "TWP Endorses Ellen's 2nd Term". Daily Observer. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011.
- ^ "Power Struggle in TWP: Partisans Demand Leadership Out But...", Liberian Observer 2011-05-23: 1/10.
- ^ Concerned TWP Members Take Gov't to Court, The Inquirer, 2011. Accessed 2016-03-16.
- ^ "Reginald Goodridge Heads 'New TWP'". Retrieved 19 June 2020.
- ^ Hecking, Hans-Peter. "La situation des droits de l'homme au Libéria : un rêve de liberté." p.6. Archived 2008-06-26 at the Wayback Machine www.missio-hilft.de. "The Situation of Human Rights in Liberia: A Dream of Freedom." Google Translate. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
- ^ Roberts, T.D. et al. (eds.), p. 238