Observer Group leaves Sierra Leone

The Commonwealth Observer Group (COG) left Sierra Leone on 18 August 2007, prior to the announcement of the results for this month's presidential and parliamentary elections.

The country will hold a presidential run-off election on 8 September, because no candidate secured a majority in the first round of voting. There will be a Commonwealth presence also for the presidential run-off election.

Having exchanged views with local and other international observers and watched the process of collating votes and the formal announcement of the provisional results, the Group's final report is pending.

The report will be presented to Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon, who will then convey it to the Government of Sierra Leone, the National Electoral Commission (NEC), all national political parties and other stakeholders in Sierra Leone. Before being made public, the report will also be sent to all Commonwealth governments.

In a departure statement, the Chairperson of the Group, former St Lucia Prime Minister Dr Kenny Anthony, said: "We leave with the sincere hope that our call for the timely and speedy release of the results will be heeded. In addition, we call on the people of Sierra Leone and the political parties to exercise patience and continue to demonstrate their commitment to a violent-free election."

Previous COGs observed elections in Sierra Leone in 1996 and 2002, as well as the local government election held in 2004.

Dr Anthony thanked the Inspector-General of Police, all political parties, civil society organisations and other domestic and international observers for their support. He added that the Group had been "deeply impressed by the quality of performance" of the NEC.

By Friday, 17 August, around two-thirds of the votes had been counted. There is no confirmed date for when the results will be finalised.

The statement commended the people of Sierra Leone for their "passion and commitment to the principles of democracy and a peaceful democratic process."

The Chairperson also commented that "the Commonwealth stands ready to continue to contribute towards Sierra Leone's post-conflict reconstruction programme."

Key Links:

• Sierra Leone Elections 2007 - Departure Statement by the Commonwealth Observer Group
• Democracy
• Country Profile: Sierra Leone