The National Elections Commission of Liberia (NEC-Liberia) and the National Elections Commission of Sierra Leone (NEC-Sierra Leone) on Friday, July 9, 2021, signed a joint Communiqué following the end of a four-day working study tour in Liberia to promote integration of Election Management Bodies (EMBs) in the Mano River Union Region.
The 8-member NEC-Sierra Leone delegation held discussions with a number of elections stakeholders in Liberia, including the Governance Commission (GC), National Identification Registry (NIR), political parties, and civil society groups.
The NEC-Sierra Leone delegation also held discussion with the Chief Justice and Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of Liberia.
The joint communique stated, “Recognizing the shared cultural and governance systems and structure; appreciating the years of bilateral supports between our two countries, this Communiqué further serves to communicate commitment by the National Elections Commission of the Republic of Liberia and the National Electoral Commission of the Republic of Sierra Leone.
“That the two Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs) commit to a continuous engagement, support and sharing of expertise to strengthen collaboration on Electoral processes for maximum performance between the two EMBs, and that both institutions commit to the use of generic election materials to facilitate easy-sharing of election materials.”
It was disclosed that further discussions are to be held in due course with the aim of actualizing these commitments and will be climaxed by the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the two institutions.
The joint communiqué was signed by Cllr. Davidetta Browne Lansanah, NEC-Liberia Chairperson, on behalf of Liberia, and Mohamed Kenewui Konneh, Chief Electoral Person, NEC-Sierra Leone, on behalf of Sierra Leone.