ECOWAS Commission holds interactive workshop with political actors and stakeholders in Sierra Leone – Liberia news The New Dawn Liberia, premier resource for latest news

The Directorate of Political Affairs (DPA) in the Department of Political Affairs, Peace and Security of the ECOWAS Commission, in partnership with the country’s Independent Commission for Peace and National Reconciliation, ahead of Sierra Leone’s upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections to be held on 24 June 2023 , is conducting a training and interactive workshop with political actors and stakeholders on peaceful elections.

The workshop, which is part of the Commission’s strategic and operational support to Member States conducting elections, is a follow-up to the joint ECOWAS-African Union pre-election fact-finding mission deployed to the country from 12 to 14 April 2023. Assessing the level of preparedness for the elections by the Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs) and other political actors and institutions.

Bearing in mind that election periods are moments of heightened political tension, the workshop aims to contribute to enhancing the dialogue and mediation skills of the participants, creating space for interactive engagement and promoting the normative principles of ECOWAS and democracy and good governance. To give an opportunity to sensitize the population on the framework. Government.

It is also examining inclusive participatory processes that would enable the conduct of free, fair, transparent and credible elections.

Workshop participants are drawn from political parties, the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone (ECSL), the Political Parties Regulatory Commission (PPRC), the Office of National Security (ONS) and the Sierra Leone Police, the Inter-Religious Council and traditional authorities. Independent Commission for Peace and National Reconciliation (ICPNC), civil society organizations and the media.

It would be recalled that similar workshops were organized for the recently held 2023 general elections in Nigeria as well as the electoral processes of several other member states.