Press Statements
National Election Watch (NEW)
A Coalition of Civic and Nongovernmental Organizations
44 Bathurst Street, Freetown
Tel: +232 3385 8013
nationalelectionwatchsl@gmail.com
Sierra Leone November 17th 2012 elections: peaceful and transparent
Freetown, November 20th 2012
Following the preliminary press statements issued by National Elections Watch (NEW) on the 2012 general elections held across Sierra Leone on November 17th, NEW wishes to congratulate once more the people of Sierra Leone for the peaceful nature and high level of participation observed all across the country. Responsible citizenry was on display in all 14 districts, in spite of logistical issues and long delays in some places. The success of non-violence campaigns was evident, and NEW particularly commends the youth of the country for maintaining the peaceful atmosphere. NEW considers that the process was transparent, enabling observers to witness every step of polling day activity... [read more]
Preliminary Statement on polling day electoral process
Freetown, November 18th 2012
Polls closed across the country yesterday for the 2012 Presidential, Parliamentary, and Local Government Elections. National Elections Watch (NEW) deployed observers in all 14 districts of Sierra Leone to cover the process. Overall, the assessment of the opening procedures was relatively good. With over 800 polling stations reporting, in the vast majority of cases, adequate security agents, NEC staff, and voting material and equipment were available. However, NEW notes with concern long delays in poll openings in many areas, including due to lack of voting material and polling station staff failing to arrive on time. NEW observers also indicated that in most cases the polling station location was appropriate and the layout of the station was well-organised. However, NEW wishes to signal its concern about complaints about the quality of voting booths and overcrowding inside stations, which may have compromised voter confidentiality in certain instances... [read more]
Preliminary statement on voting procedures
Freetown, November 17th 2012
Voting has ended across Sierra Leone’s 14 districts for Presidential, Parliamentary, and Local Government elections. National Election Watch’s (NEW) observers continue to monitor the process across the country. Overall, the statistics on voting procedures are positive, though there have been a few incidents of significant concern. With polling scheduled to close at 5 PM, as of 4.45 PM, out of 1139 polling stations where NEW observers reported, 97.7% indicated that voter confirmation procedures had been properly followed... [read more]
Preliminary statement on election opening procedures
Freetown, November 17th 2012
From the data currently available from its observers, NEW considers the poll opening procedure to have been relatively good on a nationwide basis. However, NEW expresses concern at significant delays in opening at many polling stations. As of 12.30 p.m., from data on 888 polling stations, 73% had opened by 7.15, as scheduled. This is adjudged to be satisfactory, though NEW has serious concerns about long delays in many polling stations. As of the time of writing (1 p.m.), there are reports that at least 4 polling stations have still not opened. Other opening procedures were judged to be relatively good... [read more]
Contact:
Spokesperson Ngolo Katta 076 606419
National Coordinator James Lahai 076 962233
Chairperson Ken Ganna-Conteh 076607503
