MONROVIA – A three-part conference to strengthen healthy and sustained working relations between the media and law enforcement during elections is currently underway in Zwedru, Grand Gedeh County, the National Elections Commission (NEC) has said.
The conference brings together journalists from community radio stations and law enforcement officers from across southeastern Liberia to share experiences and reflect on their respective roles during the 2023 General Elections.
The ongoing media-security engagement, which will later be extended to Ganta and Buchanan, seeks to review, reform, and readopt the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for Security Agencies and Media in Elections, with emphasis on incorporating new insights and practical lessons learned.
Speaking at the opening on Thursday, 18 December 2025, NEC Director of Training and Procedures, Atty. James S.B. Wallace, expressed excitement over the partnership among the National Elections Commission of Liberia (NEC-Liberia), the UNDP-Liberia Electoral Support Project (UNDP-LESP), the media, and the security sector, describing it as critical to ensuring peaceful and credible electoral processes.
Also addressing participants, UNDP Liberia – LESP Program Officer, Roosevelt Zayzay, and Press Union-of Liberia (PUL) President, Julius Kullie Kanubah, emphasized that sustained collaboration between the media and security institutions from 2022 to 2025 has contributed significantly to minimizing election-related tensions nationwide.
On behalf of the Liberia National Police (LNP), Deputy Commissioner of Police, Augustine K. Browne, welcomed the initiative and stressed that the SOPs developed for the media and security sector serve as a vital framework for cooperation during elections.
He called on participants to review the guidelines and infuse new ideas to further strengthen the partnership between the media and security institutions.
The Standard Operating Procedures for Security Agencies and Media in Elections, funded under the UNDP-Liberia Electoral Support Project, were first signed in 2022 by the Liberia National Police (LNP), Press Union of Liberia (PUL), Female Journalists Association of Liberia (FEJAL), and the Civil Society.
