The Liberia Immigration Service (LIS) has reportedly arrested eight Sierra Leoneans including an officer of the Sierra Leone Immigration Department for registering in the ongoing Biometric Voters Registration (BVR) exercise in Grand Cape Mount County.
LIS Director of Public Affairs, Abraham Dorley, told reporters that the eight Sierra Leoneans are currently undergoing investigation.
Mr. Dorley explained that within the next 24 hours, LIS Commissioner General Robert Budy will then write a formal communication to the Sierra Leonean Embassy near Monrovia to officially complain about their nationals interfering in the country’s electoral process.
According to him, the arrest of the Sierra Leoneans including an immigration officer in the BVR process is a serious security risk and has the propensity to create confusion and electoral violence.
The BVR exercise was launched by the National Elections Commission (NEC) to prevent the act of allowing voters register multiple times and promote the transparency and credibility in the country’s electoral processes.
But since the start of the process in six counties including Montserrado and Grand Cape Mount, it has been marred by voter trucking and violence between rival politicians in some quarters.
However, the arrest of the Sierra Leoneans, according to some Liberians and politicians should not be taken seriously in order to stop others from coming across the border to register to vote in the upcoming October 10, 2023 Presidential and Legislative Elections.