On challenge of observing an African election - Part I

What you need to know:

  • Nutshell. In a nutshell, international election observation has the potential to enhance the integrity of electoral processes by deterring and exposing irregularities and fraud and by making pertinent recommendations for improvement of electoral systems.

I arrived in Makeni City, the capital of Bombali District, Sierra Leone, on March 5 to observe presidential, parliamentary, mayoral and local council elections held on March 7.
I flew to Freetown, Sierra Leone, on February 28 for an interesting and challenging assignment as a member of the Commonwealth Observer Group (COG) which consisted of 14 eminent persons drawn from Africa, Asia and the Pacific; supported by six members of staff from the Commonwealth Secretariat. The team leader of COG was former president John Dramani Mahama of Ghana.

There were several observer groups in Sierra Leone, notably from Ecowas, the African Union, the European Union and civil society organisations. I met and interacted with two fellow Ugandans, Ms Kwesiga of the AU and Mr Crispin Kaheru of CCEDU.

The mandate of COG, established by the Commonwealth secretary general, Ms Patricia Scotland, at the request of Sierra Leone’s National Electoral Commission (NEC) was to consider various factors impinging on the credibility of the electoral process as a whole and determine, impartially and independently, whether the elections were conducted according to the standards for democratic elections.

Sierra Leone, like Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and other Commonwealth countries have committed themselves to national, regional, Commonwealth and world standards for holding democratic elections for which they are accountable.
COG plays no executive role and does not supervise or monitor elections; it only observes the electoral process and forms judgment accordingly.

Justification for observing elections
In recent years election observers have been accused by some African leaders of interfering in the internal affairs of sovereign states which accusation is false and unfair. The practice of international election observation is universally recognised and accepted as an expression of the interest of the international community in the holding of democratic elections as a component of democratic development, good governance and respect for human rights and the rule of law.

While free, fair and credible elections are a necessary condition for democratic governance, genuine democratic elections cannot be achieved unless a wide range of human rights, such as, those stipulated in Chapter 3 of Uganda’s Constitution, are enjoyed by citizens without discrimination based on sex, tribe, race, language, political opinion, etc.
In a nutshell, international election observation has the potential to enhance the integrity of electoral processes by deterring and exposing irregularities and fraud and by making pertinent recommendations for improvement of electoral systems.

Political environment of Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone which literally means “mountain lion” achieved independence one year before Uganda in 1961. Like many African countries, Sierra Leone’s attempt to build democracy was interrupted by military coups, counter coups and a vicious civil war which devastated the country for 11 years from 1991 – 2002. It is evident that the West African country has not yet fully recovered from the scourges of the civil war.
The March 7 election was the fourth to be held since the end of the war; the first presidential and parliamentary elections to be held after the civil war took place in May 2002. The UN Mission in Sierra Leone provided necessary advisory, logistical and operational support to NEC for the conduct of the elections.

Following the 2007 elections, the people of Sierra Leone witnessed the first peaceful transfer of power from one elected civilian government to another; an event which has so far eluded our beloved Uganda. Those elections were declared free and fair by most observers.
In 2012 Sierra Leone held, for the first time, four elections on the same day, as happened again this year, namely, presidential, parliamentary, local council and mayoral.