By: Frank P Martin
BUCHANAN: The Liberty Party has pushed back against suggestions that smaller political parties in Liberia merely serve as supporting forces for the country’s dominant political blocs, with senior political figures using the party’s rebranding ceremony in Buchanan to issue a strong warning about humility, political alliances and the value of ordinary voters.
At the canter of the political message was Senator Abraham Darius Dillon, Vice Chair for Political Affairs of the Liberty Party, who emphatically rejected the description of his party as a “helping verb”, a phrase that has featured prominently in Liberia’s political debate since Unity Party Chairman Rev. J. Luther Tarpeh used the expression in discussing the role of smaller parties.
“I want to reecho as Vice Chair for Political Affairs, this party is no helping verb… this party is no helping verb. In 2029, we all together will give direction for our party and country,” Dillon declared.
His remarks came as Liberty Party leaders, partisans and supporters gathered in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County, for the party’s rebranding program, an event center on reconciliation, unity and the rebuilding of the party’s political structures ahead of the 2029 elections.
Dillon’s intervention gave fresh political weight to a controversy that began in 2025, when Tarpeh was reported to have described Liberia’s political landscape as being dominated by the Unity Party and the Congress for Democratic Change, with other parties characterized as “helping verbs.” Subsequent reporting said Tarpeh explained the remark as part of a lighthearted political exchange and argued that smaller parties had historically entered alliances with the larger blocs.
But in Buchanan, Dillon appeared determined to draw a line between political cooperation and political subordination.
For the Liberty Party, he said, cooperation with other political forces should not be interpreted as surrendering the party’s identity or political independence.
The senator said Liberty Party members would collectively determine the party’s direction as Liberia approaches the next presidential and legislative elections.
The political message from Buchanan extended beyond the Liberty Party.
Deputy Speaker Thomas Fallah used the occasion to caution members of the ruling Unity Party against allowing political power to create a sense of permanence or entitlement.
Fallah urged the ruling party to remain attentive to the concerns of ordinary Liberians and to respect the political allies whose support helped bring President Joseph Nyuma Boakai and the Unity Party-led coalition to power.
“Learn to respect the little man,” Fallah cautioned, warning that political organizations that stop listening to ordinary people risk discovering that electoral support cannot be taken for granted.
“If you think you have arrived and you don't want to listen, then we will show ourselves,” he said.
The Deputy Speaker's warning carried significance beyond the Liberty Party gathering, particularly as political parties begin positioning themselves for the 2029 electoral contest.
Fallah, who leads the National Independent Movement for Boakai (NIMBO), nevertheless reaffirmed his support for the Boakai administration, saying the country was moving in the right direction despite the challenges confronting the government.
“We are not prepared to go backward. Liberia is on the right path with President Joseph Boakai,” Fallah said.
His message therefore combined continued support for the President with a caution to the governing establishment: political loyalty, he suggested, should not come at the expense of listening to citizens or respecting political partners.
The Buchanan gathering also became an occasion for Cllr. Charlyne M. Brumskine to speak about reconciliation within the Liberty Party and the political legacy of her late father, Cllr. Charles Walker Brumskine, who founded the party.
Addressing Political Leader and Pro Tempore Senator Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence, Brumskine framed the party’s internal reconciliation as an important development in its political renewal.
She told the gathering that the reconciliation process had contributed to her securing her new position before delivering a message of political encouragement to Karnga-Lawrence.
“On behalf of my mother and the late Charles Walker Brumskine, this is your time, this is your season. Liberty Party will govern this country one day,” she declared.
The statement represented one of the strongest expressions of confidence in the party’s future at the Buchanan program.
It also invoked the legacy of Charles Walker Brumskine, whose establishment of the Liberty Party gave it a distinct place in Liberia’s post-war political history.
Brumskine’s message placed reconciliation at the centre of the party’s political renewal, suggesting that rebuilding internal unity is a prerequisite for any broader ambition to return the party to national political prominence.
The Buchanan event also produced an unexpected political declaration from MO Ali, Managing Director of the Liberia Water and Sewer Corporation and Secretary General of the Unity Party Advisory Committee.
Ali described Senator Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence as the face of the Unity Party in Grand Bassa County, a statement that underscored the senator’s continuing political significance in the county.
“In this county, we have only one face in Bassa, and that is Pro Tempore Senator Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence,” Ali said.
He urged supporters to disregard what he characterized as “noise and distractions”, insisting that Karnga-Lawrence occupies a central position within the Unity Party’s political structure in Grand Bassa.
“Pro Tempore is the face of the Unity Party in Bassa County, and they know it,” Ali added.
The declaration is politically notable because it came at a Liberty Party event and from a senior figure associated with the Unity Party, while Karnga-Lawrence herself remains the Liberty Party’s Political Leader and President Pro Tempore of the Liberian Senate.
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