Grand Cape Mount County Representative, Bob Sheriff, has alarmed over the influx of Sierra Leoneans into his county to register as voters in the general and presidential elections due in October this year.
Representative Sheriff, whose county shares border with Sierra Leone, said hundreds of Sierra Leoneans are crossing the border each day since the beginning of the ongoing biometric voter registration exercise to register as voters, in violation of the Constitution.
He pointed out that the illegal action has sparked off confrontation with the residents of the county who are trying to prevent them from taking part in the process.
He disclosed that residents, armed with sticks and cutlasses, have taken position along the border to defend their county against the illegal aliens who are arriving in their hundreds to register.
The lawmaker emphasized that the standoff between the citizens and the Sierra Leone migrants has forced several eligible voters to abandon the registration and barricaded themselves in their house to escape a buildup of another devastating violence in the county.
Representative Bob Sheriff maintained that the situation became intensified last Thursday following the arrest of Sylvester Kromah, said to be Sierra Leone immigration officer, for allegedly registering as a voter in Cape Mount.
According to the lawmaker, suspect Kromah crossed the border through the Gangama crossing point and registered under a false name, Sylvester Flomo, at voting center 12051, located in the border town of Vai Kiaway, Porkpah District.
Speaking to the Hot Pepper, the Grand Cape Mount County lawmaker indicated that supporters and sympathizer of suspect Kromah, who is in the hands of Liberian immigration officers, are gearing up to attack the citizens for allegedly masterminding the arrest.
Representative Sheriff, whose house and two vehicles were set ablaze in past election violence, accused a certain Mohamed Bashiru, said to be a National Security Agency (NSA) officer assigned in the county, of providing corridor for the Sierra Leoneans to cross over to Liberia and register.
He called on the Justice Ministry and top brass of the various security apparatus in the country to put necessary security measures in place to prevent the situation from escalating further.
Grand Cape Mount County is known for electoral violence. Thousands of dollars’ worth of properties were destroyed in a major violence that rocked the county during the by-election in 2021.