Independence: 26 July 1847
National holiday: Independence Day, 26 July (1847)
Constitution: 6 January 1986
Legal system: dual system of statutory law based on Anglo-American common law for the modern sector and customary law based on unwritten tribal practices for indigenous sector
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Charles Ghankay TAYLOR (since 2 August 1997); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Charles Ghankay TAYLOR (since 2 August 1997); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term (renewable); election last held 19 July 1997 (next to be held NA July 2003) election results: Charles Ghankay TAYLOR elected president; percent of vote - Charles Ghankay TAYLOR (NPP) 75.3%, Ellen Johnson SIRLEAF (UP) 9.6%, Alhaji KROMAH (ALCOP) 4%, other 11.1%
Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly consists of the Senate (26 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve nine-year terms) and the House of Representatives (64 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) elections: Senate - last held 19 July 1997 (next to be held NA 2006); House of Representatives - last held 19 July 1997 (next to be held NA 2003) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NPP 21, UP 3, ALCOP 2; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NPP 49, UP 7, ALCOP 3, Alliance of Political Parties 2, UPP 2, LPP 1; note - the Alliance of Political Parties was a coalition of the LAP and the Liberia Unification Party or LUP
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: All Liberia Coalition Party or ALCOP
[David KORTIE]; Free Democratic Party or FDP [George BORWAH]; Liberian
Action Party or LAP [C. Gyude BRYANT]; Liberian National Union or LINU
[Victor MOMOH]; Liberian People's Party or LPP [Koffa NAGBE]; National
Democratic Party of Liberia or NDPL [Isaac D. DIKENAH]; National Patriotic
Party or NPP [Cyril ALLEN] - governing party; People's Progressive Party
or PPP [Weah A. WEAH]; Reformation Alliance Party or RAP [James THOMAS];
True Whig Party or TWP [Rudolph SHERMAN]; United People's Party or UPP
[Wesley JOHNSON]; Unity Party or UP [Charles Clarke]
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA