U.S. Presidential Delegation to attend Inauguration of Liberia’s President Johnson Sirleaf

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
January 13, 2012

President Barack Obama announced the designation of a Presidential Delegation to Monrovia, Liberia to attend the inauguration of Her Excellency Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of the Republic of Liberia, on January 16, 2012. The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State, will lead the delegation.

Members of the delegation are:

- The Honorable Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Liberia
- The Honorable Christopher A. Coons, Senator (D-DE), U.S. Senate
- The Honorable Johnnie Carson, Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of African Affairs, U.S. Department of State
- The Honorable Melanne Verveer, Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues, U.S. Department of State
- The Honorable Donald Steinberg, Deputy Administrator, U.S. Agency for International Development
- The Honorable Carrie Hessler-Radelet, Deputy Director, Peace Corps
- General Carter F. Ham, Commander, U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), U.S. Army
- Mr. Grant T. Harris, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for African Affairs, National Security Council

The 2011 Liberian general election was held on 11 October 2011, with a presidential runoff election held on 8 November 2011. The presidency, as well as all seats in the House of Representatives and half of the seats in the Senate, were up for election. The election was overseen by the National Elections Commission (NEC).

The results of the legislative elections and first-round presidential election were released on 25 October 2011. In the legislative elections, the Unity Party maintained its plurality in both the House and the Senate, but as in the previous election, no party secured a majority in either chamber. Incumbent retention was low; only two of the fourteen incumbent senators seeking to retain their seats won reelection, while only twenty-five of the fifty-nine House incumbents running were reelected.

In the first round of the presidential election, incumbent President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of the Unity Party led the presidential field with 43.9% of the vote, followed by Congress for Democratic Change candidate Winston Tubman with 32.7%. As no candidate received an absolute majority, Sirleaf and Tubman stood in a run-off election held on 8 November 2011. Tubman alleged that the first round had been rigged in Sirleaf’s favor and called on his supporters to boycott the run-off, resulting in a turnout of 38% as compared to the 71.8% turnout in the first round. The NEC declared Sirleaf the winner of the run-off on 15 November 2011 with 90.7% of the vote.

###