Editing History of Liberia (section)

==Ellen Johnson Sirleaf elected president (2005)==
{{main|Liberian elections, 2005|Ellen Johnson Sirleaf}}
[[File:Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf3.jpg|thumb|200px|[[Ellen Johnson Sirleaf]].]]
The transitional government prepared for fair and peaceful democratic elections on October 11, 2005, with UNMIL troops safeguarding the peace. Twenty three candidates stood for the presidential election, with [[George Weah]], international footballer, [[UNICEF]] Goodwill Ambassador and member of the [[Kru people|Kru]] ethnic group, and [[Ellen Johnson Sirleaf]], a former [[World Bank]] economist and finance minister,  Harvard-trained economist and of mixed [[Americo-Liberian]] and indigenous descent.

In the first round, no candidate took the required majority; Weah received 28% of the vote. A run-off between the top two vote getters, Weah and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, was necessary.

The second round of elections took place on November 8, 2005. Johnson Sirleaf won this runoff decisively. Both the general election and runoff were marked by peace and order, with thousands of Liberians waiting patiently in the Liberian heat to cast their ballots.

Sirleaf claimed victory of this round, winning 59 percent of the vote. However, Weah alleged electoral fraud, despite international observers declaring the election to be free and fair. Although Weah was still threatening to take his claims to the Supreme Court if no evidence of fraud was found, Johnson Sirleaf was declared winner on November 23, 2005, and took office on January 16, 2006; becoming the first African woman to do so.<ref>{{cite news |title=Liberian becomes Africa's first female president |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna10865705 |work=NBC News |date=15 January 2006 |language=en |access-date=July 26, 2023 |archive-date=July 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230726060210/https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna10865705 |url-status=live }}</ref>