Sierra Leone elects new president with high voter turnout
On 4 April 2018, the National Electoral Commission (NEC) declared candidate Julius Maada Bio as the Republic of Sierra Leone’s new President- see the video here: On 31 March, some 2,578,271 voters headed to the polls for the presidential run-off election in 11,122 polling stations of the country, representing 81.11% of registered voters, NEC said. […]
Street theatre supports women’s voting rights
Prince Michael Meama has two daughters, aged five and two. By the time his eldest child reaches voting age, if not before, he hopes there will be no need for the kind of street theatre he helped create for Sierra Leone’s 2018 elections. As secretary of the Calabash company, Prince co-organised a travelling show designed […]
Accessible Elections in Sierra Leone
Prior to the 2018 elections, the National Electoral Commission installed 126 ramps and benches at polling stations across the country, improving access for voters with disabilities on an unprecedented scale. The project enabled thousands to exercise their franchise on March 7, at locations where access was judged to be most difficult. Ramps were built over […]
Ballot papers arrive in advance of Sierra Leone elections
Alhaji Sesay, 35, moved through piles of sealed boxes wrapped in a white plastic on a hot Monday afternoon at Lungi International Airport in the Port Loko District of Northern Sierra Leone. With a pen and a notepad, Sesay scribbled serial numbers, districts, and tags from the labels on the boxes of ballot papers, one-by-one. […]
Promoting Everyone’s Right to Vote
The National Election Commission (NEC) and the National Commission for Persons Living with Disabilities (NCPD) are working to empower voters with disability and promote their active participation to the elections. In preparation for 7 March general elections, for the very first time, every polling station in Sierra Leone received TactileBallot Guides. This allowed visually impaired […]