Liberia: Bility Rejects Early Opposition Collaboration, Cites ‘Lessons Learned’ from Internal Wrangling Over CPP Standard Bearer Selection  

Monrovia – The Political Leader of the newly established Citizens Movement for Change (CMC), Representative Musa Bility, has ruled out any early merger with other opposition parties to unseat the Unity Party-led government of President Joseph Nyuma Boakai.

---

By Obediah Johnson

---

Bility, who represents Nimba County Electoral District #7 in the 55th Legislature, said opposition parties should limit their collaboration to jointly opposing government excesses, while respecting each other’s constitutional right to contest the 2029 elections.

Speaking on the OK Morning Rush Show on OK FM 99.5 on Monday, Bility said lessons from the failed Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) coalition ahead of the 2023 elections must guide current opposition strategy.

“There are times we collaborate; we’ve called for that, and I am happy the Secretary General of the CDC was online. He and I have spoken on many occasions. But one of the mistakes of the CPP should not be repeated. The relationship now should be limited—focusing mainly on tackling the excesses of this government,” Bility said.

He added that while CMC will continue discussions with other opposition parties on national issues, the party will not entertain forming a coalition at this stage.

“I will never be part of any coalition whose leadership is not determined from the start. The CPP example shows that the moment you form a coalition without clear rules, confusion follows,” Bility said.

Bility cited past controversies within the CPP, including efforts to undermine the image of former CPP Chairman and Alternative National Congress (ANC) leader Alexander Cummings. He blamed the situation on Cummings’ push for a transparent Standard Bearer selection, which was rejected by the governing Unity Party.

“I don’t want to go through that process anymore,” he added.

Acknowledging the difficulty of a single party winning the presidency in Liberia, Bility insisted that the CMC will stay true to its objectives.

“We have a goal at CMC. We are new, less than a year old, and we will stay this way. We will not collaborate with anybody for a single ticket or enter into such discussions for the next two years,” he said.

Bility explained that the decision not to merge early is aimed at allowing the party to make a positive impact nationwide and give Liberians a clear sense of what CMC stands for.

“This will give the people an idea of whether CMC is something they can support. We will assess our performance before the pending elections and then decide whether to contest the presidency independently or consider a merger,” he said.