MONROVIA: Ahead of the much-awaited October Presidential and Legislative elections, the Inspector General (IG), of the Liberia National Police (LNP), Col. Patrick Sudue, has declared that “Gone are the days when people will get vex and pick up arms.”
“We will protect the peace of Liberia with our blood and sweat comes October 2023. We will not sit and allow anyone to derail the already fragile peace of our country,” Col. Sudue emphasized.
According to the LNP IG “Any political party or independent candidate wanting to disrupt the elections; trust me, you will have the police force to contend with.”
The Police Chief made the remarks on Tuesday, January 23, 2023, at program marking the official launch of a project, titled: “Community Initiatives for Peaceful Elections in Liberia-2023 (CIPE-LIBERIA), being spearheaded by a non-for-profit organization, styled: “HER VOICE.”
IG Sudue accentuated that the Liberia National Police will utilize every expertise at its disposal aimed at helping to curtail major violent protestations during the upcoming elections and to ensure that the polls are conducted in a peaceful and tranquil atmosphere.
He made it clear that the LNP, as part of its strategies, will roll out meetings with different actors and institutions in the lead up to the much-publicized October 10 presidential and legislative polls.
Some of the institutions that the LNP will meet with, according to Col. Sudue include the Press Union of Liberia (PUL), political parties, independent candidates, Motorcyclists and Tricycle Unions, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and many others.
The steps, according to IG Sudue, are gear towards cooperation involving the police and the public and to keep preaching messages of peace and non-violence elections across the country.
With support of the National Elections Commission (NEC), Sudue disclosed that LNP will assign equal number of police officers to every political party participating in the October elections.
“It is good that the government is doing everything possible in order to beef up our strength by training additional manpower. We will name and shame any political party that attempts to cause chaos in these elections,” he indicated.
Col. Sudue however extolled Liberia’s international development partners such as the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), United States Agency for International Development, and many other local and international groups that are involved with electioneering activities in the country.
