Nimba County district #7 Representative, Roger S.W.Y. Domah, has accused officers of the Emergency Response Unit (ERU) of the Liberia National Police (LNP) of intimidating citizens at the various biometric voter registration (BVR) centers in district #7 and providing special treatment to people believed to be aspirant Musa Bility’s supporters. Representative Domah made the allegation during an exclusive interview with the Hot Pepper on Monday, April 24, 2023 in Paynesville.
The Nimba County lawmaker said citizens of his district have informed him about the presence of ERU officers at the registration centers. He alleged that the ERU officers, about seven (7) in number, are moving with aspirant Bility’s support team intimidating National Elections Commission’s agents who are carrying out the registration and community dwellers to allow strangers to register.
From the beginning of the registration process on Friday, he said citizens of district #7, especially those in towns and villages, resisted those believed to be strangers from registering. Representative Domah has also accused aspirant Bility of trucking people from outside of the district. According to him, aspirant Bility is allegedly trucking people into the district for US$50 per person. He alleged that ERU officers in the district are taking instructions from aspirant Bility, thus putting fear in community dwellers from stopping non-community members from registering.
The district #7 legislator disclosed that the 7 ERU officers are not under the jurisdiction of NEC; instead, they were brought into the district by aspirant Bility to make sure that all his supporters who came from Monrovia and other parts of Nimba register. Honorable Domah maintained that he has informed the police commander in Nimba County about the situation in district #7, and that the commander told him that he was not aware of ERU officers being assigned to district #7. He promised to quickly intervene in order to bring the situation under control. Domah further alleged that the ERU officers are settling electoral matters, which he claimed is dangerous to the country’s growing democracy. The Unity Party lawmaker has also vowed to write the National Elections Commission (NEC) about the situation in his district.
He emphasized that he is not worried about Bility’s presence in the pending election because he has done what is required for him to be reelected by his people. He urged Bility to allow residents of district#7 to make the decision at the ballot box in October on who their next representative is and stop bringing non-residents to the district in the name of power. He cautioned citizens of district #7 to be peaceful despite of the presence of ERU officers in the district.