Monrovia, Liberia – The Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) has announced that its Political Leader and former President George Manneh Weah will return to Liberia on September 2, setting the stage for a major political reception and an opposition leaders’ gathering days later.
The announcement forms part of a broad political program unveiled Thursday by the CDC National Executive Committee, which also paid tribute to the late Janjay Baikpeh and announced plans for an opposition roundtable to be chaired by Weah.
According to the party, Weah is expected to arrive in Liberia on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, with a special steering committee already constituted to coordinate his reception.
The committee will be headed by former House Speaker Dr. Bhofal Chambers and includes CDC lawmakers, party officials, mobilization coordinators, communications personnel and representatives from several counties.
The CDC is calling on its partisans, supporters and well-wishers, as well as peace-loving Liberians, to participate in welcoming the former President.
The planned homecoming is expected to provide the CDC with an opportunity to demonstrate its organizational strength and reconnect its political base with its former standard-bearer.
Weah’s return will also precede a major opposition engagement scheduled for September 5 at the Jamaica Resort in Paynesville.
The CDC said the Opposition Leaders’ Roundtable will bring together figures from Liberia’s opposition community to discuss the country’s political, economic, security and governance challenges.
Former Foreign Affairs Minister Ambassador Dee-Maxwell Saah Kemayah has been designated to coordinate the gathering, which will be presided over by Weah.
The party said the meeting is intended to encourage greater cooperation among opposition actors around democratic governance, constitutionalism and accountability.
The planned engagement comes at a politically sensitive moment in Liberia, with opposition parties and government supporters sharply divided over issues including governance, institutional accountability and the government’s response to the country’s drug trafficking crisis.
By placing Weah at the center of the roundtable, the CDC is positioning its political leader to play a direct role in discussions aimed at strengthening cooperation within the opposition camp.
The party did not provide details on the specific opposition leaders expected to attend the September 5 meeting.
Alongside the political announcements, the CDC opened its statement with a tribute to Janjay Baikpeh, describing the late Grand Bassa County CDC chairman as a committed party leader whose political career spanned party leadership, youth mobilization and public service.
Baikpeh previously served as National Vice Chairman for Operations of the CDC’s Revolutionary National Youth League and contested the Grand Bassa County senatorial race in 2023.
During the CDC administration, he also served as Superintendent of Grand Bassa County.
The party said Baikpeh’s funeral and related transition activities will take place in Grand Bassa County.
A committee headed by Chambers has been tasked with coordinating the CDC’s participation in the activities surrounding his homegoing.
The CDC’s latest announcement consequently combines mourning, political organization and opposition coordination as the party prepares for a potentially consequential period.
The return of Weah on September 2, followed by the opposition roundtable three days later, gives the former President a visible political platform shortly after his return to Liberia.
The developments are likely to attract significant public attention as the opposition seeks to strengthen its coordination and articulate a common response to national political and governance issues.
For the CDC, the September activities represent more than a welcome ceremony. They provide an opportunity to consolidate the party’s political base, reconnect its leadership structures and broaden cooperation among opposition forces.
With Weah scheduled to preside over the September 5 discussion, the former President is set to return to the center of Liberia’s political conversation.
