GBARNGA, Bong – Internal Affairs Minister Henrique F. Tokpa is calling on all Liberians 18 and over to turn out and register during the voter registration exercise for October’s elections.

Liberia’s National Elections Commission is conducting voter registration until March 7.

Making remarks at a decentralization forum in Gbarnga recently, Tokpa encouraged all Liberians to ensure they register to vote for the leaders they think can best represent them.

He described the impending elections as crucial for Liberia’s democracy, emphasizing the importance of voting as a citizen.

“If you don’t register, you will not vote. If you don’t tell your colleagues, your parents in the villages, they will not want to get up and register to vote, and we may not have the kind of leader and direction that we need for our country,” Tokpa added.

He implored Liberians to join and complement the efforts of the NEC and its partners in encouraging citizens to register.

Bong County Superintendent Selena Polson Mappy has also embarked on a mass civic voter registration campaign.

Mappy has recently intensified public awareness of the voter registration exercise in Bong.

Appearing on Radio Gbarnga, Mappy called on all eligible voters across Bong to see the elections as a “golden opportunity” to effect positive changes in leadership.

“This coming election is the best time we have as citizens to change all of our leaders we claim are not doing us well. And the only way we can do that is when he have the voter card to vote in October,” Mappy said.

She vowed to continue the campaign across the county to ensure huge turnout for registration in Bong.

NEC has targeted registering 2.5 million voters to participate in the elections in October.

Many Liberians in the country and in the diaspora as well as international partners and friendly nations see this year’s elections as a test case for Liberia’s relatively fragile democracy.

In more than forty years, this will be the country’s first democratic transfer of power from one elected government to another.

Featured photo by Moses Bailey