Liberian general election, 1975

General elections were held in Liberia on 7 October 1975, alongside a simultaneous referendum on presidential term limits. In the presidential election, incumbent William R. Tolbert, Jr. of the True Whig Party (who had taken office after the death of William Tubman in 1971) was the only candidate, and was re-elected unopposed. In the legislative elections True Whig Party candidates won all 71 seats in the House of Representatives and all 18 seats in the Senate unopposed. Voter turnout was around 80%.

The elections were the first after the eligible age of voters in elections was reduced to 18. It was a combined elections for choosing the President, Representatives of the House and the Senate. Independent observers claim that the elections in 1975 along with that of the earlier elections were rigged by the ruling True Whig Party to assert their claim on Single party rule.

In the United States, there was a movement to resettle free-born blacks and freed slaves who faced legislated limits, in Africa and predominantly in Liberia, believing blacks would face better chances for freedom in Africa than in the U.S. The American Colonization Society was founded in 1816 in Washington, DC for this purpose, by a group of prominent politicians and slaveholders. During the mid 19th century, there were continuous clashes between Liberian government and British merchants from Sierra Leone. The merchants were of the argument that the country had no rights to impose taxes. The elites in the colony wanted to declare sovereignty to overcome the issue, resulting in the declaration. During the 1846 referendum, there was a voting on declaration of independence to the nation. On 26 July 1847, the nation declared itself independent based on the popular voting and thus became the first democratic country in Africa.

The Legislature of Liberia was modeled based on the Legislature of United States. It is bicameral in nature with a Senate and the House of Representatives. There are 15 counties in the country and based on the population, each county is defined to have at least two members, while the total number of members to the house including the Speaker being 71. Each member represents an electoral district and elected to a four year term (six years after 2011 elections) based on popular vote. There were 18 senators, two each for the nine counties and they serve a six year term (30 senators, 15 counties and nine years from 2011). Senators are also elected based on plurality of votes. The Vice-President is the head of the Senate and he also acts as President in his absence.

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