Carter Center Calls for Results to be Released by Polling Station

FREETOWN, SIERRA LEONE (June 28, 2023) — In a follow-up to the preliminary statement issued yesterday on the Sierra Leone elections, The Carter Center once again strongly urges the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL) to publish election results by polling station so that parties and observers can cross-verify data, in accordance with international best practice.

This is particularly important considering the report from National Election Watch (NEW) indicating that the results from NEW’s verification exercise differ from the ECSL results, which show both significantly higher turnout and recorded votes for the SLPP presidential candidate. The Carter Center is familiar with and has great confidence in NEW’s rigorous observation and verification methodology, and therefore is concerned that the ECSL’s results do not correspond with NEW’s data.

Publishing detailed polling station results is critical to ensuring that the final results announced by the ECSL genuinely reflect the will of the people as expressed on election day. This is especially true given that The Carter Center and other observers have expressed strong concerns regarding the lack of transparency during the tabulation process and have directly observed instances of serious irregularities at tabulation centers that call the integrity of the results into question.

The Carter Center continues to observe the tabulation process across the country. The Center reiterates its recommendation that results from any ballot boxes that were opened in violation of procedure and international best practice should be set aside for additional scrutiny and should not be included in the final results until a formal, transparent, and inclusive review can establish whether they can be considered credible.  Lacking this, the credibility of the results is in question.

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Contact: In Atlanta, Maria Cartaya, maria.cartaya@cartercenter.org
In Freetown, Nicholas Jahr, nicholas.jahr@cartercenter.org

The Carter Center
Waging Peace. Fighting Disease. Building Hope.

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.