The Commonwealth Political Adviser-Governance and Peace Directorate Clara Cole on Tuesday 16th October, 2018 presented the Monitoring Report on the Sierra Leone 2018 General and Presidential Elections to Dr. Alie Kabba, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation at Tower Hill in Freetown. She reported that the Monitoring Team is in the country to follow up on post-election governance and peace consolidation, adding that they are in the country to help the Government in the area of democracy. The Political Adviser further reported that the Team will be organizing two days’ workshop with Civil Society Organisations, National Electoral Commission (NEC) on the Report.
The Minister of Foreign affairs and International Cooperation welcomed the Team and appreciated the Report because of the history of Sierra Leone in terms of conduct and management of election. The Commonwealth Dr. Kabba said, played specific role during the March 2018 General and Presidential Elections. He updated the team on the democratic values of His Excellency President Bio’s Government, which is a cornerstone. The New Direction he explained is focused on delivering the promises made to transformed the country in terms of development and to improve on democratic good governance that will better the lives of everybody residents in the country especially Sierra Leoneans. The Minister prompted Government commitment to strengthen NEC in order to increase public confidence in the electoral processes.
He affirmed that the New Direction Government determination to uphold the rule of law and assured that the Report will be accepted and recommendations implemented fully. “On behalf of the President and Government of Sierra Leone, I want to thank and appreciate you and the Commonwealth Family for your key role in the March 2018 elections. Your presence on the ground really helped to cushion tension during the election period, I am grateful” the Minister opined. He expressed optimism that lessons learnt will guide the Government in the implementation of the New Direction Agenda. He described the Commonwealth-Sierra Leone relationship as a family that work together on principles.
