The NUDP was certified by the
National Elections Commission (NEC) in September 2010. It was founded by
Prince Yormie Johnson, Senator for
Nimba County and former head of the rebel
Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia, to contest the
2011 presidential and legislative elections. Initially, Senator Abel Massalay was to serve as Johnson's running mate, but after failing to visit his residence during Johnson's illness, Massalay was dismissed. James Laveli Supuwood would later be selected as running mate. Johnson received 139,786 votes, 11.6% of the total. The NUDP came in third in the presidential election, behind the
Congress for Democratic Change (CDC). In the 2011 legislative elections, NUDP candidate Thomas Semandahn Grupee won the
Nimba County seat in the Senate. This resulted in the NUDP having two members in the Senate in total. NUDP candidates won six seats in the House of Representatives. Each seat was in Nimba County. The following won the electoral districts numbers 1 through 6 respectively:
Jeremiah Kpan Koung, Prince O. S. Tokpah, Samuel G. Z. Woleh, Garrison Yealue Jr., Samuel Gongben Kogar, and Ricks Yeah Toweh. Kowou accused Johnson of supporting Sirleaf unilaterally, without the consent of the executive committee. The executive committee had supported the opposing CDC's presidential candidate,
Winston Tubman. Kowou further accused Johnson of criminal behavior. Johnson did not accept his expulsion from the party and maintained that he was still standard bearer. NEC ruled in favor of Johnson, as according to The New Dawn Liberia, the Kowou faction "did not submit the constitution acted upon to the Elections Commission to support plaintiff’s arguments." In May 2013, Johnson claimed to resign from the NUDP. Soon after, he claimed he was joking. The NUDP convention was held in late June 2013 in
Buchanan. Despite the use of scare tactics and threats of violence against the convention by Johnson, the convention was uninterrupted. Johnson did not attend the convention, signalling Johnson's departure from the party. The convention elected Representative Ricks Toweh as acting standard bearer, replacing Johnson. By May 2014, the NEC had filed a petition to have 20 political parties, including the NUDP, de-certificated. The NUDP was accused of not meeting the standard for submitting statements to the NEC detailing the assets and liabilities of the party and its candidates. It was additionally accused of knowingly submitting false or misleading statements. By November 2015, the NEC delisted the NUDP as a registered political party. In May 2016, the
Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction was certified by the NEC. This was a new party founded by Senator Johnson. ==Election results==