Monrovia, Liberia – The grassroots political motion STAND has kicked off its much-anticipated “Road-to-Road, Door-to-Door” marketing campaign, starting in District 7, Montserrado County, as a part of its nationwide mobilization effort forward of the July 17 “Sufficient is Sufficient” nonviolent protest.
By Selma Lomax | [email protected]
The launch marks the motion’s first on-the-ground group engagement in what STAND says shall be a sweeping marketing campaign to reclaim the voice of the Liberian individuals.
With volunteers shifting door to door and bloc to bloc early Monday morning, the marketing campaign shortly gained momentum in neighborhoods throughout District 7. STAND activists engaged residents in conversations about Liberia’s worsening financial situations, the rise in corruption, unemployment, and what they described as a gentle erosion of democratic governance underneath the administration of President Joseph Boakai.
In a press release issued after the launch, STAND praised the residents of District 7 for his or her robust turnout and expressed gratitude for his or her willingness to take part in what the group calls a rising nationwide awakening. “We salute the braveness and dedication of the individuals of District 7,” the group acknowledged. “That is just the start. We’re organizing, mobilizing, and recruiting throughout Liberia. July 17 is the Individuals’s Day.”
Monday’s launch additionally got here with a pointy rebuke of the federal government’s continued use of the 2024 Afrobarometer survey, which some officers and pro-government voices have cited to assert rising public confidence and perceived nationwide progress.
The survey carried out from July 30 to August 21, 2024, was taken simply six months after President Boakai assumed workplace. STAND insists the info is outdated and now not consultant of the lived realities of Liberians.
The group criticized authorities surrogates for weaponizing a year-old survey to assemble a false narrative of success. “Counting on a year-old survey to justify the federal government’s efficiency is each dishonest and harmful,” STAND mentioned. “Liberia deserves trustworthy reflection, not propaganda.”
In accordance with STAND Chairman Morlu Morlu, the 2024 Afrobarometer ballot mirrored a short lived surge in optimism widespread after elections — not tangible governance outcomes. “It was a snapshot of hope, not a measure of success,” Morlu mentioned. “A full 12 months later, that hope has light. What we’re witnessing now’s a full-blown disaster throughout each sector.”
In an in depth overview of the present state of the nation, STAND pointed to a number of indicators of decline, together with escalating poverty and deteriorating residing situations, hovering youth unemployment, rampant corruption with no main prosecutions, selective software of justice and tenure violations, and an general decline in investor confidence and public belief.
The group additionally voiced concern about elevated suppression of dissent, intimidation of civil society, and rising fears amongst odd Liberians who really feel uncared for and unheard. “These are the actual points confronting our individuals,” STAND emphasised. “But, fairly than addressing these issues, the federal government chooses to cling to outdated polling knowledge to justify its narrative.”
As a part of its marketing campaign, STAND is asking on Afrobarometer and different respected analysis establishments to return to Liberia and conduct a brand new, up to date nationwide survey that precisely captures residents’ views in mid-2025.
In accordance with the group, any new polling should assess points similar to corruption in authorities, entry to justice and equity within the authorized system, financial hardship and inflation, human rights violations, and erosion of democratic establishments. “Liberians want actual knowledge, not political spin,” the group declared. “Solely by understanding the reality can we chart a path ahead.”
STAND has confirmed plans to develop the marketing campaign to all 17 electoral districts in Montserrado County, with further groups being mobilized in Bong, Grand Bassa, Nimba, Lofa, and Margibi Counties within the coming weeks.
The July 17 protest, branded underneath the theme “Sufficient is Sufficient,” is envisioned as a large, peaceable demonstration aimed toward pressuring the Boakai administration to ship on its guarantees and respect democratic rules.
Organizers say the protest will embrace civil society teams, scholar unions, market associations, youth organizations, and hundreds of odd residents. “This motion just isn’t about politics,” mentioned Morlu. “It’s about restoring hope, demanding outcomes, and refusing to be lied to by these in energy. If democracy means something, then that is our second to make it depend.”
STAND can also be calling on the worldwide group and democratic observer missions to watch the protest preparations and make sure that the rights of residents to peaceable meeting and free expression are protected. The group warned that any try to suppress the protest or intimidate individuals could be met with widespread condemnation, each domestically and internationally.
“We won’t enable worry or repression to silence the reality,” STAND acknowledged. “Liberians are able to rise, peacefully and lawfully, for justice and alter.”
As residents in District 7 welcomed campaigners into their properties, many expressed hope that the rising motion would lastly maintain nationwide leaders accountable. “We’re uninterested in empty guarantees,” mentioned one resident within the Lakpazee space. “It’s time for motion, and this marketing campaign is giving us the facility to talk up.”
With the July 17 protest now simply over six weeks away, STAND says its marketing campaign will proceed to develop every day, reaching extra communities and spreading its message of accountability, justice, and reform. “This isn’t a one-day occasion,” the group concluded. “It’s a people-powered motion to reclaim our democracy and restore the soul of Liberia. And it has begun — door by door.”
