Liberia Closes Borders For Polls

Barely some hours to the conduct of Liberia’s presidential and legislative elections, the government has announced the closure of the country’s land borders.

Col. Chris Massaquoi, Immigration Commissioner, Bureau of Immigration and Naturalisation, made the announcement on Monday in Monrovia on Liberia state television (LTV).

He said: “Let us make this very clear. We have not done this to instil fear in any citizen.

“There is every reason for us to institute those measures to protect our territorial borders and our citizens in order to avoid any disruption during the electoral exercise.

“Stringent security inspections will be carried out at all inland borders during the election period. ”

Massaquoi said the closure of the borders was necessitated by the utterances of some politicians on the likelihood of distractions from neighbouring countries.

Liberia shares an extensive, porous and volatile border with Guinea, Sierra Leone and Cote d’Ivoire.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalled that the Western border, shared with Cote d’Ivoire, was a major route for arms trafficking and the movement of mercenaries during the Ivorian political crisis.

Meanwhile, a total of 150 observers from various countries have been pooled by ECOWAS to monitor the Liberian presidential elections on Tuesday.

Amb. Victor Gbeho, Chairman of ECOWAS Commission, announced this on Monday in Monrovia at a pre-election news conference.

He said the Liberian presidential and legislative elections would be a test of “political maturity and sophistication”.

“The elections will be a real test of the process of further deepening democratic progress and national reconciliation after the return to civilian rule in Liberia.

“ I wish to appeal to the sense of responsibility of all Liberians to ensure peaceful, free, fair and transparent elections.

“Any act of violence or manipulation of the electoral process can only jeopardise the democratic intentions of the state and its citizens and will not serve the general interest of Liberians.”