By Saio Marrah
The European Union Ambassador to Sierra Leone, Manuel Muller has urged the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone (ECSL) to update the Voter Registration system for the 2023 general elections in clear terms and collaboration with the electoral stakeholders for a robust register.
He made this call at a two-day conference with civil society organisations’ (CSOs) on the theme “Building Resilience, Protecting the civil space: A CSO Agenda for the 2023 election” held at the Radisson Blu Conference Hall in Freetown on Monday 20th June 2022.
The EU ambassador said it is fundamental for ECSL to build confidence in all electoral stakeholders and the citizenship at large in the system and the conduct of all electoral operations including voter registration.
He noted that as stakeholders, they are counting on the commission to guide such a critical process with wisdom and long-term vision.
Ambassador Muller said while the conference is seeking for CSOs to build and protect the civic space for the 2023 elections, such a success will largely depend on the commission’s transparency, inclusiveness, and the space it will provide for active engagement of civil society.
As the country is just one year away from the election, Muller emphasised that political will and concerted efforts are needed to take forward electoral reforms.
He also noted that CSOs are uniquely well- placed to support institutions by engaging citizens and various stakeholders to support voter education and assist in identifying and resolving structural imbalances and triggers of conflicts.
He said it is only when CSOs are independent of the state that they can function as CSOs.
He pledged the EU’s commitment to a strong democracy and good governance in Sierra Leone which requires vibrant CSOs to promote national cohesion and ensure credible and accountable institutions.
Giving the overview of the conference, the Chairperson of the National Election Watch (NEW), Marcella Samba Sesay, noted that free and unfettered civic space is the bedrock of any open and democratic society, saying that it is therefore an integral part of democracy. She said when civic space is open, citizens and civil society organisations are able to organise, participate and communicate without hindrance.
Describing polarised views as the springboard for democratic growth, she said people do not have to agree to involve each other or to interact. Sesay said such partnership is best harnessed to serve the improvement of viewpoint and enriching engagement for better results.
She pointed out that NEW is a coalition of more than 400 CSOs across the country with 190 focal points at the Chiefdom levels, twelve persons at the district levels making up district teams with an equal representation of five males and five females and two persons with disabilities.
According to her, “the CIVICUS, is an organization that works to protect and grow CIVIC space where people can express and organize themselves for democratic participation freely using its well-known monitor categorized Sierra Leone Civil Society as Obstructed,” she said.
She added that if the civic space is obstructed, it means it is heavily contested by power holders, who impose a combination of legal and practical constraints on the full enjoyment of fundamental rights. She noted that even though CSOs exist in Sierra Leone, they are undermined by state authorities through the use of illegal surveillance, bureaucratic harassment and demeaning public statement.
The Executive Secretary of ECSL, Addo Davies, said elections should be free, fair, and credible and they have to be democratic. He also called for CSOs to be given free space to participate in the electioneering processes.
Therefore he said the venture to promote civil society resilience in the context of the elections in Sierra Leone is a campaign that should be supported especially by the ECSL.
He noted that the normative framework on elections provides for the conduct of credible and democratic elections that are spelled out in international, continental, and regional conventions, and the constitution which he said pointed out the need for everyone to be given the right to participate in the elections in their countries.
He also noted that the constitution and the international conventions all talk about the will of the people that should be the basis of the authority of government.
At the end of two days of deliberations yesterday, the group signed a communique that addresses the challenges highlighted by the CSO that could hinder their effective operations.
Copyright © 2022 Politico Online (22/06/22)
