James Koryor, the former Head of Secretariat for the Liberia Political Centrism Movement’s Diaspora Network, has resigned in protest, declaring the movement has “deviated” from its core values. His abrupt departure comes just bare days after the Movement’s head, Cllr. Kanio Bai Gbala, publicly met with and endorsed President Joseph Boakai’s controversial re-election bid for 2029.
In his resignation letter obtained by Diaspora Alert, Koryor accused the movement of abandoning the “balanced, moderate, and people-centered principles” that were its founding purpose. He stated this shift has created “a noticeable gap” from the political values necessary for “credible national leadership,” forcing him to step aside “in good faith.”
The resignation follows a swift and consequential political realignment. Last week, Cllr. Gbala, the head of the Centrism Movement, held a closed-door meeting with President Boakai. Emerging from that meeting, Gbala formally threw the Movement’s support behind Boakai’s campaign for a second term—a bid that has already sparked intense national debate barely two years into his first term.
Koryor’s resignation, dated so shortly after this endorsement, is widely seen by political analysts as a direct rejection of the Movement’s new pro-administration stance. It suggests a significant faction within the group views the alliance with Boakai not as centrist pragmatism, but as a surrender of the Movement’s stated independence and moderation.
This is a clear indictment from within,” said a political insider who requested anonymity. “Koryor was a key diaspora organizer. For him to quit so pointedly and immediately after the Boakai endorsement signals a fundamental crisis of identity. The leadership is betting on early alliance-building for 2029, while its own members see it as a betrayal of their reason for existing.”
Koryor expressed gratitude for his role but concluded with a pointed hope that “the Movement will one day return to its founding ideals.” His departure raises urgent questions about the stability of the Centrism Movement and the potential for further defections as Liberia’s political landscape reshapes ahead of 2029.
