The National Electoral Commission, Sierra Leone
Promoting democracy and good governance
Profile of the Chief Electoral Commissioner and Chairperson
Mohamed N’fah-Alie Conteh is the Chief Electoral Commissioner and Chairman of the National Electoral Commission. Mr Conteh has more than 26 years of experience in the field of electoral operations. He meritoriously rose through the ranks to serve as Chief of Field Coordination and Reporting Unit, Chief of Procedures and, subsequently, Director of Operations. He served as Electoral Commissioner for five years before he was appointed by the President as Chief Electoral Commissioner/Chairperson. Commissioner Conteh presently has oversight responsibility for Finance and Administration.
Ms Augusta Bockarie is the Electoral Commissioner for the Southern Region with oversight responsibility for Gender and Disability, Capacity Building, Human Resource and Infrastructure.
Ms Miatta L. French is the Electoral Commissioner for the Western Area with oversight responsibility for Training, Outreach and Information Technology.
Mr Macksood G. Sesay is the Electoral Commissioner for the Northern Region with oversight responsibility for Legal Issues, Archives/Reports, Procedures, Training and Voter Education.
The Electoral Commission and Stakeholders validated the NEC Strategic Plan 2015-2019, which is the 3rd in the series of the Commission’s strategic plans. It seeks to consolidate all its gains over the last ten years since the restructuring of the Commission in 2005, with the fundamental aim of creating an organisational structure that builds its technical capacity, establishes its credibility and portrays autonomy.
The NEC Strategic Plan (2015-2019) Pillars include:
- Institutional Capacity Development
- Staff Capacity Development
- Infrastructural Development
- Information Management System
- Electoral Education, Communication and Outreach
- Reform of Electoral Laws and Regulations
- Boundary Delimitation
- Voter Registration
- Elections and Referenda
- Monitoring and Evaluation
Following the outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease in May 2014 and the imposition of a State of Public Health Emergency on social gatherings, the National Electoral Commission between August 2014 and July 2015 suspended its operations with specific reference to the conduct of all electoral activities.
The Commission also witnessed leadership transition as a result of the retirement of former Chief Electoral Commissioner, Dr Christiana A.M. Thorpe and the appointment of Commissioner Mohamed N’fah-Alie Conteh on 12 February 2015.
As part of its own contribution towards supporting the fight against the Ebola outbreak, the Commission put six 4WD trucks at the disposal of the Ministry of Health and Sanitation. The Commission also assisted the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST) to distribute hygiene and educational materials to all educational institutions nationwide to help bring about the reopening of schools. The Commission also assisted the MEST in establishing the Situation Room to enhance a well-coordinated and effective communication infrastructure for its operations.
The Commission, in collaboration with the National Registration Secretariat (NRS), is working on preparatory work that involves the designing and production of a multi-purpose civil registration ID card to replace the traditional Voter ID cards used in previous elections.
The NEC developed a NEC Disability Policy (NEC-DiP) in 2015 that is designed to ensure that the rights of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) are protected in election participation.
NEC, in collaboration with other democratic institutions, has established the Institute of Electoral Administration and Civic Education Sierra Leone (INEACE-SL), which has facilitated training of staff in certificate and diploma programmes in three regional cities of Sierra Leone, namely Freetown, Bo and Makeni. INEACE-SL is presently an affiliate of the Catholic University of Makeni (UNIMAK).
