STATEMENT ON THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF DEMOCRACY — SEPTEMBER 15, 2026
DEFEND DEMOCRACY. CONFRONT TYRANNY. PROTECT ELECTIONS. NOW.
By STAND Chairman Mulbah K. Morlu, Jr
The Solidarity & Trust for a New Day (STAND), Liberia’s fearless and uncompromising civil society movement, has consistently stood for democracy, good governance, constitutionalism, human rights, accountability, and the rule of law. On this International Day of Democracy, we reaffirm that these are not political slogans; they are the pillars upon which Liberia’s democratic Republic must stand.
Yet today, Liberia stands at a dangerous democratic crossroads. An alarming concentration of state power is steadily eroding the institutions, freedoms, and constitutional safeguards upon which credible elections and democratic governance depend.
The warning signs are no longer subtle—they are a clear and growing threat to Liberia’s democracy: mounting concerns over the independence and credibility of electoral institutions; the politicization of state institutions; increasing restrictions and confrontations over peaceful civic expression and assembly; unresolved allegations of police brutality; and the growing use of state security in ways that raise serious concerns about political control rather than the impartial protection of citizens, constitutional rights, and the rule of law.
STAND issues this warning without equivocation: no government has the right to capture, weaken, intimidate, or weaponize the institutions of the Republic for political advantage. Liberia’s democratic institutions must not be bent to serve those in power, and the State must never become an instrument for silencing dissent or subverting the will of the people.
Nonetheless, STAND assures the Republic that it will never be silent, regardless of the magnitude of the threats or risks confronting its leaders. We will continue to rise in peaceful resistance against every attempt to erode Liberia’s democracy, undermine constitutional freedoms, or weaponize state power against the people. We caution those currently occupying positions of power: democracy is the sacred birthright of the Liberian people, not the private property of those who temporarily occupy the corridors of power.
The appointment of Jonathan K. Weedor to chair the National Elections Commission, amid public questions about his alleged partisan ties to the Unity Party and his previous professional association with a consultancy engaged by the party, raises grave concerns about the independence, transparency, and credibility of the very institution entrusted with protecting Liberia’s elections. Such concerns cannot be dismissed or swept aside.
More troubling is the growing perception that the Liberia National Police is being positioned as the ultimate enforcer of political and post-election order, despite the painful lessons of Kinjor, where three Liberians were killed during a confrontation between protesters and security forces in February 2024, alongside continuing public outcries over alleged police brutality, repression of citizens, and crackdowns on student communities.
And the list goes on: the alleged illegal ouster of a sitting Speaker, the expulsion of a legislator for exercising free speech, the erosion of the rule of law, political patronage, corruption, selective justice in the fight against transnational drug trafficking, and flagrant violations of tenure laws. Together, these are not isolated incidents; they form a disturbing pattern of institutional erosion under the Boakai power structure.
This is how democracies are lost—not always through one dramatic blow, but through the gradual capture, intimidation, politicization, and weakening of the institutions designed to protect the people.
Liberia must rise now. A system is taking shape that threatens to undermine the people’s will in 2029. If these trends are not confronted now, the ballot itself may no longer be enough to protect the people’s choice.
STAND therefore calls upon civil society organizations, opposition political institutions, journalists, professional associations, student movements, faith leaders, youth organizations, and all defenders of constitutional democracy to unite—peacefully, lawfully, and resolutely—to resist the normalization of authoritarian practices.
Democracy requires free and fair elections, the rule of law, human rights, freedom of expression and assembly, accountable government, political inclusion, institutional independence, and peaceful transfers of power.
These principles cannot be defended in 2029 if they are surrendered in 2026.
The danger signs are already visible. The institutional architecture capable of undermining confidence in a free, fair, transparent, and credible 2029 election is being constructed before our eyes. Liberians must not wait until Election Day to discover that the democratic playing field has already been tilted.
STAND will not wait. STAND will not stand down. We have begun consultative engagements toward lawful, peaceful, and nonviolent democratic action to defend the Republic and protect the constitutional rights of the Liberian people.
On this INTERNATIONAL DAY OF DEMOCRACY, we call for vigilance, unity, institutional independence, constitutional accountability, and peaceful democratic resistance to every attempt—regardless of who holds power—to turn the Liberian state into an instrument of political domination.
Liberia belongs to its people; not to any president, political party, police command, electoral commission, or political establishment.
Therefore, STAND calls upon all patriotic citizens and progressive forces to rise peacefully and resolutely:
DEFEND THE REPUBLIC.
PROTECT DEMOCRACY.
SAVE THE 2029 ELECTIONS.
The Truth Is Our Guide