a fair trial to the family of Tolbert. During 1984, a new draft constitutional was approved in a referendum, which provided for a 58-member civilian and military Interim National Assembly, headed by Samuel Doe as president. Electoral system The bicameral Legislature consisted of a 26-member Senate and a 64-member House of Representatives. Each of the 13 counties elected two senators and at least two Representatives. Senators served a nine year term and were elected by first-past-the-post voting. Representatives were elected from single-member districts, also by first-past-the-post voting. The voting age was 18. Persons of foreign origin, insane and convicted of crimes were not eligible. Candidates for the House of Representatives were required to have been resident in the country for one year before the elections, be a taxpayer and be at least 25 years old. Senate candidates had to be at least 30. Campaign After the ban on political parties was lifted, four parties, namely, Doe's National Democratic Party of Liberia, the Liberian Action Party, the Unity Party and the Liberia Unification Party contested the elections. Conduct Polling was largely peaceful, but marred by allegations of widespread fraud and rigging. Many independent observers believed that the Liberian Action Party's Jackson Doe, who officially finished second, was the actual winner. It was later revealed that Samuel Doe had the ballots counted in a secret location by his handpicked staff. Though there was no official mission from the United States to validate the fair conduct of the elections, the American Assistant Secretary of State Chester A. Crocker acknowledged that there were widespread irregularities, but pointed out that the narrow margin of victory showed good amount of fair polling and the extended hours of voting proved effective in increasing the voter turnaround. He also pointed out that radio stations and newspapers provided fair coverage to all the four parties that competed. Results Aftermath Samuel Doe was sworn-in as the President on 6 January and a civilian cabinet on 15 January. The period after the elections saw increased human rights abuses, corruption, and ethnic tensions, ultimately leading to the start of the First Liberian Civil War in 1989 and Doe's overthrow and murder in 1990. References External links Elections in Liberia General election Liberia Liberia Election and referendum articles with incomplete results