Freetown, Sierra Leone, 5^th March 2018. Prof. Amos Sawyer, Head of ECOWAS’ 55-member Observation Mission to Sierra Leone, on Monday in Freetown tasked the regional observers to discharge their duty with the highest sense of responsibility and impartiality given the critical importance of the March 7 polls to peace and democratic consolidation in the country and the region.

“I wish to therefore admonish each and every one of us to conduct ourselves in a manner that is beyond reproach and ensure that our feedback is factual and truly reflects an impartial assessment of the 2018 General elections,” Prof. Sawyer, Liberia’s former Interim President said at the briefing of 40 Short-Term observers, who have joined 15 Long-Term Observers already on ground in Sierra Leone.

He noted that “all stakeholders, both domestic and international, are looking up to ECOWAS to lead the way, and the way we conduct ourselves, whilst on the field, will add value to the entire process.”

The Head of Mission outlined ECOWAS’ engagement with stakeholders and support to Sierra Leone to ensure a successful electoral process, including the Needs Assessment Mission in July 2017 by the ECOWAS Network of Electoral Commissions (ECONEC), the first of its kind, followed by a joint ECOWAS-AU-UN High level Mission in November 2017.

This was followed by an ECOWAS Pre-electoral Fact-finding Mission in February 2018, complemented by series of training workshops on election-related mediation and dispute resolution, targeting faith-based organisations and community peace actors in the country.

In his introductory remarks, Prof. Sawyer congratulated the new Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security of the ECOWAS Commission, Gen. Francis Behazin, on his appointment and formally welcomed him to his first observation assignment.

On behalf of the new President of the ECOWAS Commission Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, Commissioner Behazin, who is leading the Commission’s Technical Support Team for the Mission, welcomed the observers and urged them to carry out their assignment with effectiveness and precision.

He said the general elections would mark a major step toward consolidation of peace and democracy in Sierra Leone, and the larger ECOWAS Community, adding that the Commission had provided financial and other forms of support to ensure the success of the electoral process.

The ECOWAS Commission Director of Political Affairs, Dr. Remi Ajibela, and the Head of Electoral Assistance Division Mr Francis Oke, set the tone for the observers’ briefing, by providing them with the historical and political contexts of the Sierra Leone polls, the logistics, security and local contacts.

Members of the Long-Term Observation Core Team also provided the observers with relevant information on the situation report, and also went through the observation Code of Conduct with them.