Published: June 27, 2026
ZWEDRU, Grand Gedeh County – Movement for Progressive Change Political Leader Simeon Freeman has branded President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s absence from the Congress for Democratic Change’s 22nd anniversary “irrational,” likening the ruling Unity Party to “dinosaurs” that read every situation as a threat instead of embracing multiparty democracy.
Freeman, speaking to reporters in Zwedru at the CDC celebration, said neither Boakai nor any senior Unity Party figure attended, a no-show he cast as proof the administration is unwilling to promote political tolerance and democratic coexistence.
A ruling party should show confidence in democracy by joining major milestones staged by the opposition rather than keeping its distance, he argued.
“If Boakai and his government have some sense on their shoulders, this is how you show that you support multiparty democracy; you already have power,” Freeman said. “So come and celebrate with CDC. This is 22 years of a party’s existence, but instead he sits down in Monrovia talking nonsense.”
Freeman said the anniversary was not merely a tribute to former President George M. Weah or the party’s current leadership but recognition of a political institution that has stayed relevant for more than two decades. He praised Weah’s path from international football star to the Senate and the presidency as evidence of determination and institutional growth.
He also pointed to former President William R. Tolbert Jr., saying Tolbert once met demonstrations against his administration by joining the protesters and giving them food and water rather than suppressing them. The episode, he said, reflected the political maturity Liberia should aspire to.
Comparing the Unity Party to extinct dinosaurs, Freeman said the ruling establishment appears to treat every engagement with the opposition as a threat rather than a chance to strengthen democracy.
“If we are doing our celebration, they will come, too, and if the Unity Party is doing theirs, we will go there to celebrate—not the missteps but the achievements of the political party—but these guys are not smart,” he said.
The anniversary represented the endurance of a political institution regardless of which leaders, including Weah or the party chairman, were present, Freeman maintained.
He urged Liberia’s political leaders to move past what he called “myopic” and “small brain” thinking and to recognize that parties should mark one another’s milestones as a way of building tolerance and a healthier multiparty system.
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