EFFL Says Quota Alone Will Not Raise Women’s Seats, Calls for Proportional Representation System

The Economic Freedom Fighters of Liberia said requiring political parties to field at least 30 percent female candidates will not increase women's representation in the National Legislature. Speaking in Monrovia on June 28, EFFL Political Leader Emmanuel Gonquoi stated that the goal must be to ensure more women win seats rather than simply contest elections.

AllAfrica reported that Gonquoi called for replacing Liberia's winner-takes-all system with proportional representation.

Under the proposed system, voters would select parties instead of individual candidates, and seats would be allocated by each party's share of the national vote. Parties would structure candidate lists to guarantee at least 30 percent women among elected lawmakers. The remarks address a proposed New Elections Law under debate that would make the 30 percent female nomination requirement mandatory.

A 2014 amendment encouraged the same quota without penalties for noncompliance. The House of Representatives passed a mandatory version in 2022, but then-President George Weah vetoed it in 2023 on constitutional and timing grounds. Women currently hold fewer than 12 percent of seats in the National Legislature, according to the EFFL.

The party also called for nationwide biometric voter registration to reduce fraud and improve roll accuracy. It further proposed keeping the retirement age for National Elections Commission commissioners at 70 and setting the minimum appointment age at 40.