Sierra Leone National and Local Council Elections, 17 November 2012

The Report of the Commonwealth Observer Group for the Sierra Leone National and Local Council Elections, held 17 November 2012. The Group was led by Olara Otunnu, former Foreign Prime Minister of Uganda, and comprised nine eminent persons in total. The Group found that overall the elections were conducted in a free, peaceful and transparent manner and met international standards and benchmarks for the conduct of multi-party elections. They recommended a number of measures to strengthen further the electoral process in Sierra Leone, such as development and implementation of a comprehensive and wide-reaching voter education programme well in advance of polling day, and settling on a reasonable candidate nomination fee before the next electoral cycle.