Hope-Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone Elections Observed

03 September 2007

23 from Hope Sierra Leone were among official observers during Sierra Leone's 11 August 2007 elections.

Sierra Leone's parliamentary elections and the first round of presidential elections on 11 August – the first since the 2005 withdrawal of UN peacekeepers – have been widely praised as being free and fair, thanks partly to civil society groups. Among them has been a team of 23 trained observers from Hope Sierra Leone (HSL). In the week before the elections HSL engaged executives of all the political parties in monitoring the major political rallies.

HSL also sponsored a series of radio and TV broadcasts focusing on the role of the National Electoral Commission (NEC), Sierra Leone Police and Civil Society in enhancing free, fair and violence-free elections culminating in a UN Radio phone-in discussion on the night before polling day.

On the panel was the Acting Inspector-General (AIG) of Police, Professional Standards; the President, Sierra Leone Association of Journalists; three Public Relations Officers from NEC; the National Coordinator, CEC; and the Founder and Executive Director, Hope-Sierra Leone. The discussion, which lasted until the following morning, aimed to allay voter fears on a range of issues.

The panelists ended with a message ‘to let the public know that the election is not a war but a celebration of democracy, and that all must work hard to uphold and maintain the tenets of democracy in our beloved country’.

The first round presidential election was inconclusive with the opposition candidate narrowly ahead. Campaigning for the September 8 run-off vote has been marred by some violence, leading the Secretary-General of the UN, Ban Ki-moon, to call for 'all parties and their leaders to do everything necessary to prevent the situation from escalating'.

The Secretary-General also praised the people of Sierra Leone for the 'peaceful and orderly manner in which the first round of the electoral process was held'.

For a full report of HSL's role in the first round election, click here

See photos from the pre-election rallies.

 - An Agenda for Reconciliation