The Carter Center, a nonprofit organization founded by former US President Jimmy Carter, has launched an international election observation mission to Sierra Leone ahead of the country’s national elections on June 24, 2023.

The Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL) invited the Center to observe this year’s elections.

A core team of four experts has arrived in Freetown from the US, Poland, Kenya, and the UK. Additional experts and observers from around the world will join them in the coming weeks.

“We look forward to engaging with Sierra Leonean stakeholders across the political spectrum and providing an independent and impartial assessment of the electoral process. We hope that our observation and reporting will provide important information to Sierra Leonean citizens, key recommendations to stakeholders, and help uphold transparency for the remainder of the electoral process,” said Carter Center Field Office Director Nicholas Jahr.

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“The Carter Center has had a longstanding commitment to democracy in Sierra Leone, and we are honored to launch this International Election Observation Mission in support of the electoral process,” said Barbara J. Smith, the Carter Center’s vice president for peace programs.

The Carter Center conducts election observation work in accordance with the 2005 Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation and makes assessments based on relevant parts of national legal frameworks as well as regional and international obligations for democratic elections.

The Carter Center has been a force for peace in Sierra Leone since 2002, when it observed the first presidential and parliamentary elections following the end of Sierra Leone’s devastating civil war. Since then, The Carter Center has played a role in the country’s 2007, 2012, and 2018 national elections.

The Carter Center has observed more than 110 elections in 39 countries.

The Carter Center is a not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization, The Carter Center has helped to improve life for people in over 80 countries by resolving conflicts; advancing democracy, human rights, and economic opportunity; preventing diseases; and improving mental health care. The Carter Center was founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, in partnership with Emory University, to advance peace and health worldwide.