Arrival Statement: African Union Election Observation Mission to the 24 June 2023 General Elections in the Republic of Sierra Leone

The African Union Commission (AUC) announces the arrival of the African Union Election Observation Mission (AUEOM), for the 24 June 2023 General Elections in the Republic of Sierra Leone. At the invitation of the Government of Sierra Leone and the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, His Excellency Moussa Faki Mahamat approved the deployment of short-term African Union Election Observation Mission to assess and report on the conduct of this election. 

The AUEOM is led by H.E. Hailemariam Desalegn Boshe, former Prime Minister of the People’s Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. It is comprised of 50 Short Term Observers (STOs) drawn from Ambassadors accredited to the African Union, Officials of Election Management Bodies, members of African civil society organisations, African election experts, Human Rights specialists, gender and media experts, and representatives of youth organisations. The observers are drawn from 20 African countries which include Algeria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Ghana, Madagascar, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The Mission will base its assessment on the legal framework governing elections in the Republic of Sierra Leone and the OAU/AU Declaration on the Principles Governing Democratic Elections, the standards and obligations stipulated in the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, the Principles for Election Management, Monitoring and Observation (PEMMO), and the International Declaration of Principles (DoP) for International Election Observation. The assessment will also be based on the regularity, transparency, equity and fair conduct of the electoral process.

The Mission shall interact with state authorities, the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone, political parties, the media, civil society organisations and representatives of the international community. The Mission will equally interact with other election observation missions deployed to observe the 2023 Elections in Sierra Leone.

Observers will be deployed to all six electoral regions, namely, Eastern, Northern, North-Western, Western rural, Western Urban and Southern where 13 of the 16 electoral districts will be covered.

The Mission will release a Preliminary Statement of its overall findings and assessment of the conduct of elections on 26 June 2023 in a Press Conference in Freetown. A final and comprehensive Report will be released within two months from the date of announcement of final election results and will be posted on the AU Commission website.The Mission’s Secretariat is located at Bintumani Hotel Freetown, Sierra Leone.  

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Union Peace and Security Department.