2007 Press Releases

US Government Provides Election Support to Sierra Leone

March 1, 2007
US Embassy, Freetown
Contact: Public Affairs Officer

On March 1st, the United States Ambassador to Sierra Leone Thomas N. Hull launched the United States Government Election Support to Sierra Leone. The $2.2 million dollar project (approx. 6.4 billion leones) is funded by the United States Government through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and will enhance good governance and the political process leading to transparent and credible national elections.

The US Election Support to Sierra Leone project is being implemented by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the International Foundation for Elections Systems (IFES) under the Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening (CEPPS), project. The project will fund and assist the National Electoral Commission (NEC) in its voter information and sensitization, domestic election monitoring, and observation of the electoral process for both the Presidential and Parliamentary elections in July 2007 and the Local Government elections in 2008.

The funding will also enhance the ability of the Political Parties Registration Commission (PPRC) to effectively monitor the financial transparency and credibility of political parties, support conflict mitigation, and strengthen the capacity of civil society organizations and the media in promoting citizen awareness and participation in the electoral process.

At the ceremony, Ambassador Hull remarked “We are pleased to be a partner with the National Electoral Commission by funding IFES and NDI to support the elections. We, in the Embassy, will be monitoring the current voter registration, the freedom of campaigns, the turnout of voters and the transparency of ballot counting. The credibility of the elections, however, ultimately rests with the participation of Sierra Leoneans in the entire process from registering to voting.”

The ceremony was attended by the Deputy Minister of Development and Economic Planning Ibrahim Sesay, PPRC Commissioner I. A. Caesar, NDI Country Representative Nicholas Demeter and IFES Program Manager Magnus Ohman. 

The $2.2 million dollar project (approx. 6.4 billion leones) is funded by the United States Government through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and will enhance good governance and the political process leading to transparent and credible national elections.