1967 Liberian Presidential Election (A New Hope)

The 1967 Liberian Presidential Election was the 33rd quadrennial election in the Republic of Liberia, held on 8 November 1967. It has seen the re-election of the incumbent president William Turban over writer and philosophist Alexander Wesley of the Liberal Party of Liberia.

During Turban's first term, Liberia made significant progress and obtained various positive achievements both in social and economic fields. The 1964 state visit to the United States brought a capitalist economic model to follow, contrary to the socialist rhetoric in many African countries, which justified the use of the planned system in order to bring equality caused by colonial governance. Since Liberia never was under the control of any colonial power, Turban strongly rejected the left-wing policies and state intervention in the economy, stating that private action was the only way to guarantee happiness and development. His opponent, Alexander Wesley, argued that neoliberal measures required surveillance and regulation in order to tackle inequalities; he also held pan-africanist views and has often written textbooks about the subject, and attracted a great public.

In terms of foreign policy, Turban expressed great dissatisfaction over the surrounding military regimes in the geopolitical area; Guinea, Sierra Leone and the Ivory Coast vowed to respond to Turban remarks with "swift force". This prompted Turban to visit the United States to request military advisors and equipment in case of a tri-national invasion of Liberia. In 1966, the U.S. opened Camp August outside Monrovia, in order to discourage the three nations possible invasion. The number of enlisted personnel increased from merely 3,000 to 25,000 fully-paid and trained soldiers, that also received the finest and most modern weapons. Border clashes were reported in September 1966 and there was great speculation that the presidential election would be canceled; such a myth never materialized. Regarding economic affairs, Liberia was in the road of becoming one of the most advanced and modern African countries along with Botswana, and prioritized the mining and petroleum sectors for exportation. The money would be then used to invest mainly in defence, law enforcement agencies and social projects. Many of Barclay old leftist policies were reverted in favor of individual and private actions.