A team led by Roselyn Akombe (Ph.D)of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Advisory Mission on Elections, on Thursday September 23, 2021, engaged the Inspector General of Police – Ambrose Michael Sovula (Ph.D) and his management team on George Street in Freetown.

Explaining the purpose of the visit, Dr. Akombe said that the UNDP team was at Police Headquarters to engage the leadership of the Sierra Leone Police (SLP), as part of their mission to look at ways they could support the SLP for the 2023 elections.

She praised Sierra Leone’s transition from war to peace; and stressed that free, fair, peaceful, and credible elections would help sustain Sierra Leone’s peace, stability and democratic credentials. Noting, that amid their limited resources, they are still willing and committed to supporting the SLP with some specific requirements which they might need, as one of the critical institutions in the electioneering process.

Responding, the Inspector General of Police catalogued some of the SLP’s requirements for the effective policing of the 2023 elections. He listed, among other things, human resource capacity (training), communication gadgets, other logistics and equipment, as specific elections’ requirements for the 2023 multi-tier elections.

He assured of the SLP’s commitment to providing a level playing field for all actors in the pending elections; adding, that the organisation will continue to execute its functions with fairness and neutrality.

In closing, IG Sovula thanked UNDP and other national and international donors and organisations for their unwavering support to the SLP during previous elections, and called on same to continue to be of help to the organisation; thereby empowering it to effectively and efficiently execute its functions.

Climaxing the occasion was the IGP’s formal handing over of the document containing all SLP’s electoral requirements to the head of the team – Dr. Roselyn Akombe for their attention and possible intervention.