Emerging from the Destruction

On July 19, 1997, Liberia's seven-year war was finally ended through an election that swept former faction leader Charles Taylor and his party, the National Patriotic Party (NPP), into power with 75 percent of the vote. Due to the system of proportional representation used in the 1997 Liberian election, Charles Taylor also garnered a corresponding 75 percent majority in the legislature, giving him seventy of the ninety legislative seats. The new government is beginning the process of establishing and consolidating its authority in the face of enormous challenges. Tens of thousands of Liberians were killed during the fighting. Almost half the population is displaced, and the country's infrastructure is virtually destroyed. Ultimately, over a dozen peace accords and almost twenty cease-fire agreements were signed during the countless negotiations for peace. The repeated breakdown of the peace process can be attributed to a number of factors including the internal factionalization of the warring factions along ethnic lines, and their economic and political incentives for continuing the war. The proliferation of these groups was encouraged by the creation and support of anti-Taylor factions by the former government army and the regional peacekeeping force. Moreover, the lack of adequate leadership, training, and financing of the regional peacekeepers, and the unwillingness of the U.N. military observer mission to address the weaknesses of the regional peacekeeping force further contributed to the country's problems.