Central Monrovia saw a complete shutdown of normal activities throughout Thursday, September 7, 2023 due to the indescribable turnout of supporters of the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) to grace the official launch of the party’s One Million-Citizens Campaign. In order to accommodate the gigantic turnout, authorities of the CDC, which had planned the event to be held only at the Antoinette Tubman Stadium (ATS), organized another jamboree at the party’s headquarters, Congo Town, at the same time the occasion was being held at the ATS.
The city began to turn blue as early as 9:00 a.m. when scores of supporters started to make their way to the ATS in massive groups, singing, dancing and chanting battle cries. Leaders in the CDC led their own delegation of supporters to the event.
By midday, approximately three out of every four persons in Central Monrovia had on either a CDC shirt, beret or lappa, mounting the momentum and causing for those who had left their homes for economic purposes to begin shutting down or just sitting to observe how the CDCians commemorated the day.
President George M. Weah arrived at the event during the evening hours, and recounted his development achievements to indirectly provoke the opposition that claim to be the rescuers. His speech was brief and did not last up to five minutes, relieving the huge crowd that was tested by both sunshine and rainfall.
Before the event on Thursday, it had been the predominant view of critics that the CDC and President George M. Weah have lost relevance and taste with the masses due to alleged secret killings, corruption and failed governance. They argued that the CDC had become unpopular and could not even pull a crowd to fill their party’s headquarters.
Truthfully, after the CDC was inaugurated in 2018, the people began to observe a downfall in the economy, with President Weah and his appointees allegedly building duplexes for themselves while the fabrics of the nation crumbled. By 2019, the regime was so unpopular that a massive “We Taya Suffering” rally was held, attracting even employees of the very Weah government. By 2020, the senatorial by-elections were held, and the opposition, very united then, gave the CDC a bloody nose and running stomach in several counties, including Montserrado, the perceived stronghold of the CDC.
However, it seems like the CDC has recalibrated and gained strength and courage from the series of provocations in recent times, mainly from folks from the Unity Party (UP) who are of the conviction that their Standard Bearer, Ambassador Joseph N. Boakai, will win the 2023 general and presidential elections come what may.
Unity Party leaders and supporters have consistently provoked the CDC and President Weah to extreme anger. Boakai is on record for accusing Weah of not even putting his hands up in session to make comment throughout the time he served as Presiding of the Liberian Senate. The UP accused the government of inputting “kush” and other dangerous drugs into the country to damage the future of the youth, and so on. They also accuse the Weah government of being a gangster’s paradise, a Banana Republic, etc.
As the saying goes, “A wise man changes”, and so the CDC may have learned its lessons and is ready to work to the will and pleasure of the people. Even though the UP criticism may have hurt the CDC and its government, it may have also helped them to garner the necessary courage to make a bigger comeback at the eve of the 2023 elections. Thursday, the CDC appeared even more stronger and united, more organized and politically mature.
As if the two events in Monrovia were not enough, separate programs were held in Nimba and Lofa counties. The program in Nimba was massive, and was led by the CDC Secretary General, Jefferson T. Koijee, who also celebrated his birthday the same day.
Observers are saying, with the new numerical threshold set by the CDC, what is now left to target a one-round victory is the official campaign launch of the UP, the opposition forerunner. They say if the UP fails to pull half of what the CDC put out yesterday, CDCians will become more courageous to turn out on election day to give their leader a one-round victory.