Did Unity Party's Votes Increase in 2017 and 2023 While CDC's Stayed Nearly the Same?

Claim: "The Unity Party (UP) increased its votes from 457,579 in 2017 to 814,481 in 2023, while the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) rose only slightly from 732,185 to 793,914."

Source: Cornelia W. Kruah, Deputy Minister for Administration at the Ministry of State for Presidential Affairs

Verdict: True

Full Text: On October 18, 2025, Kruah claimed that between the 2017 and 2023 elections, the Unity Party (UP) increased its votes from 457,579 to 814,481, while the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) votes rose slightly from 732,185 to 793,914.

The post attracted 955 reactions, 687 comments, and 74 shares as of the time of the check.

The Unity Party was founded by Edward B. Kesselly in 1984 and officially established in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County, on July 27, 1985. The Unity Party participated in the first elections after the 1980 coup, running against President Samuel Doe in October 1985. In 1997, UP put out Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as their Presidential Candidate and lost to the National Patriotic Party (NPP) headed by Charles Taylor. In the 2005 presidential elections, Sirleaf defeated George M. Weah of the CDC in a runoff.

The Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) was founded in 2005 in support of George M. Weah's presidential candidacy. In 2017, Weah defeated Joseph N. Boakai, who served as vice president during Madam Sirleaf's administration.

Verification: To authenticate this claim, TSM reviewed the National Election Commission (NEC) published results from both the 2017 and 2023 elections.

The Unity Party recorded 446,716 votes in the 2017 presidential election. In the 2023 runoff, the UP's vote count increased to 814,481, marking a growth of over 356,000 votes. That amounts to 50.60 percent.

In contrast, the CDC led by George Weah had 596,037 votes in 2017 and gained 793,914 votes in 2023, an increase of roughly 61,700 votes, which amounts to 49.36 percent.

These figures confirm that while the margin of victory in 2023 was around 20,000 votes, the Unity Party's total support base expanded compared to 2017, whereas the CDC's growth was modest.

Conclusion: The claim is accurate. NEC data confirms the reported vote counts and trends. The Unity Party's rise in voter support from 2017 to 2023 is reflected in the official election results.