The first was Electoral Violence, presented by Alfred Paolo Conteh, the Minister of Internal Affairs, who spoke on the role of his ministry to ensure there is peace and stability before, during and after the elections.
The others were Electoral Management Integrity by William Aggo Davies; How the Incumbent can better support processes for free fair elections, by Ibrahim Tommy of Centre for Accountability and Rule of Law; and the Role of the Media in Ensuring Free and Fair Elections, by the President of the Sierrra Leone Association of journalists (SLAJ) Kelvin Lewis.
The SLAJ President said that any proposal to ban social media before and during the elections is a bad idea as it is not the right channel to ensure peace.Â
The Registrar, Political Parties Registration Commission, Zainab Umu Moseray presented a paper on how politics can be made affordable to ensure greater participation, especially for women, citing that safe seat should be their watchword.
She urged women to be actively involved in the governance structure of the country and fight for their thirty percent quota representations within political parties, the waiving of candidature fees inside and outside political parties and stand against all forms of discrimination.
These were followed by interactive sessions on these thematic areas.
The Broke out session on these areas to develop a resolution and the way forward was facilitated by five rapporteurs.
No deferring of the election date, adequate and timely funding of NEC and police neutrality were identified as the key prerequisites for peaceful and credible elections in the position paper that was drafted at the end of the session among several issues.
The CSO position paper was presented by the Consortium team lead, Dr. Mahmud Tarawallie. The document will later be forwarded to the appropriate authorities for swift action.
