Former Liberian President George Weah, has urged African leaders to uphold democratic principles, warning that leaders elected through the ballot can become as dangerous as dictators if they undermine democratic institutions.
Speaking on Sunday at the opening ceremony of the 2026 Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Annual General Conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Weah said democracy is threatened not only by military coups but also by elected leaders who gradually erode the independence of state institutions. The conference has the theme, “Beyond Limits.”
“And let me be plain about something else because it is often the more dangerous of the two threats to democracy. The danger is not only that soldiers might seize power in the night or that a defeated candidate might refuse to leave office,” Weah told participants.
“It is also that a leader who arrives in office through free and fair elections can, over time and often gradually, come to govern like the very dictators that ballot was meant to guard against—leaning on the judiciary until it bends to his will and strong-arming the legislature until it becomes an echo chamber rather than a check on his power. A tyrant with a certificate of return is still a tyrant.”
Reflecting on his own experience, the former Liberian leader recounted how he accepted defeat in Liberia’s 2023 presidential election before the official declaration of the final results, describing the decision as a commitment to democratic values.
“I did not wait for the counts to be completed or for the final result to be formally announced before I picked up the phone to congratulate my successor. There were those around me who suggested patience, who argued that the sitting president owed it to himself to contest every figure until the very last vote is certified,” the former AC Milan star said.
“I chose otherwise. I chose to concede while the counting was still underway because I have always believed and still believe that the will of the people must stand above the ambitions of any one man in the democratic setting.”
Weah, who served as Liberia’s president from 2018 to 2024, stressed that the survival of democracy depends on strong institutions, particularly an independent judiciary capable of checking executive excesses.
“Democracy does not survive on the strength of elections alone… What holds us up? What keeps the roof from collapsing on the people inside it? Our institutions,” he said.
He further called on members of the legal profession to remain steadfast in defending the rule of law, insisting that judicial independence must never be compromised.
According to him, threats to democracy extend beyond coup plotters, noting that undue political interference in the judiciary weakens democratic governance.
“We have seen nations where the judiciary’s own budget must first pass through the executive it is meant to hold accountable… A court decision must mean what it says without any political permission,” Weah added.
