In October 2017, Liberians will head to the polls to vote, as President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Africa’s first elected female Head of State, completes her second and final term tenure this year.

Approximately 2.1 million Liberians have registered to vote in the upcoming October 2017 presidential and legislative elections, according to provisional results. Almost half of those registered are women.

The National Youth Movement for Transparent Election (NAYMOTE) over the weekend completed a week training for 100 women aspirants and campaign managers from across the 73 electoral districts in Liberia.

When Liberians go to the polls on October 10, they will see more women on the ballots. That is, if 138 “women’s leadership boot camp” graduates have anything to say about it.  

Women's rights activists in Liberia welcomed a new law creating parliamentary seats reserved for women, young people and people with disabilities, in a country where women are poorly represented in politics despite having a female leader.