A Critical Analysis of Democratic Elections as a Dimension of Peace and Legitimacy: A Case Study of the Liberian Electoral System (2005 – 2014)

The purpose of the research was to do an in-depth analysis of elections with a focus on providing a clear understanding of democratic elections as a dimension of peace and legitimacy. The emphasis of the research was on the electoral system of Liberia and the measure of its contribution to the promotion of peace and legitimacy in the country from 2005 to 2014. The researcher used the qualitative research method, descriptive design, and questionnaires as data collection tools. The population of the research was five hundred fifty-five (555) representing the population of the workforce of the National Elections Commission of Liberia and the leaders of registered political parties. The sample size of the research was fifty-five (55) based on Purposive Sampling Techniques (Patton, 1990). The research showed that in spite of frequent elections conducted from 2005 to 2014, not many Liberians understand elections within the framework of the concept of democracy. Many are yet to understand or come to the full realization that there are roles, rights, and responsibilities of the individual citizen in democracy beyond ballot casting. The research further showed that 34.5% of respondents of the total of 55 respondents said the extent to which Liberians understand democracy as a model of governance is very little. This finding has implications for the attainment of genuine peace and legitimacy in Liberia. The researcher concluded that there is an urgent need for government to establish a national mechanism for a rolling public or civic education program that will deepen the understanding of the people on elections and democracy-related issues on a regular basis. In his conclusion, the researcher furthered that this gap is responsible for the reported limited understanding of the citizenry and if the principle of participation must be realized, then efforts have to be made to educate the citizenry on democratic values and principles.