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An electoral officer briefs his colleagues during the Sierra Leone Presidential and Parliamentary Elections, 14 May 2002

An electoral officer briefs his colleagues during the Sierra Leone Presidential and Parliamentary Elections, 14 May 2002.

Commonwealth Team to observe Local Elections in Sierra Leone

2 July 2008

Former Belize Minister to lead Team

A Commonwealth Expert Team will observe the 5 July 2008 local elections in Sierra Leone, Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma announced today.

Mr Sharma said that the Team of four, supported by a three-person staff team, will be led by Ambassador Dolores Balderamos Garcia, Former Minister of Human Development, Women and Civil Society of Belize. The Expert Team is jointly organised by the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF).

The Team which arrived in Sierra Leone on 27 June will remain in the West African country until 12 July 2008. It has been constituted at the invitation of the Independent Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone.

The full composition of the Commonwealth Expert Team is:

  • Ambassador Dolores Balderamos-Garcia, Former Minister of Human Development, Women and Civil Society, Belize
  • Mr Vuyo Mlokoti, Chairperson, Municipal Demarcation Board, South Africa
  • Mr Milton Brown, Mayor of Clarendon and Chairman of the Association of Local Government Authorities, Jamaica
  • Mr Kanor Sanakey, Executive Council Member of NALAG and Presiding Member of Dangme East District Assembly.

The Secretariat support staff team will be led by Julie Broadbent, Political Affairs Officer in the Political Affairs Division.

Note to editors

For media inquiries, please contact:

In Sierra Leone: Ms Julie Broadbent, Political Affairs Officer, Democracy Section, on Tel: +44 7850 298 968 or e-mail: j.broadbent@commonwealth.int

In London: Mr Julius Mucunguzi, Communications Officer and Assistant Spokesperson for Africa on e-mail: j.mucunguzi@commonwealth.int or Tel: +44 78 94 59 35 171.

"The Commonwealth is very pleased to have been invited to these elections and to send a team back to Sierra Leone. We were very encouraged by the conduct of the 2007 national elections, which were held in a credible and transparent manner, enjoying the confidence of stakeholders. This was in no small measure due to the capacity and independence of the Electoral Commission," Mr Sharma said.

The Secretary-General added that the mandate of the Team is to observe preparations for the election; the polling, counting and results process; and the overall electoral environment.

Prior to their departure from Sierra Leone, the Team will submit a report to the Commonwealth Secretary-General, assessing the overall conduct of the process and making appropriate recommendations for future strengthening of the electoral process in Sierra Leone.

The Expert Team will act impartially and independently and shall conduct itself according to the standards expressed in the International Declaration of Principles for Election Observation to which the Commonwealth is a signatory.

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