Elections 2023: Commonwealth Observer Group in Sierra Leone

This Commonwealth Observer Group (COG) was constituted by the Commonwealth Secretary-General, the Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC, following an invitation from the Election Commission of Sierra Leone. It will be the fifth time for a Commonwealth Observer Group to observe elections in Sierra Leone, since the end of the civil war in 2002. (Read the previous COG Report from the 2018 Elections)

The COG of 12 distinguished members from more than 10 different countries across the Commonwealth, with international expertise in law, politics, election administration, human rights, media, gender and diplomacy. The COG will be supported by an 8-member team from the Commonwealth Secretariat, led by the Head of Electoral Support, Mr Linford Andrews.

Members of the Commonwealth Observer Group

Chairperson: H.E. Yemi Osinbajo, Former Vice President of Nigeria

Observers (in alphabetical order of nationality):

• Mr John Njie, National General Secretary (Executive Director) of The Gambia YMCA & National Coordinator of the CSO Transitional Justice Working Group, The Gambia
• Lady Anande Trotman-Joseph, President, Caribbean Women in Leadership & Chairperson, Commonwealth Caribbean Association of Integrity Commissions and Anti-Corruption Bodies, Grenada
• Dr Nasim Zaidi, Former Chairman & Chief Election Commissioner, India
• Hon Justice Amraphael Mbogholi Msagha, Retired Judge, Kenya
• Mr Sangwani Mwafulirwa, Director, Media and Public Relations, Malawi
• Dr Elsie Nghikembua, Chairperson, Electoral Commission, Namibia
• Ms Cynthia Mbamalu, Co-Founder and Director of Programmes, Yiaga Africa, Nigeria
• Mr Glen Mashinini, Commissioner, Electoral Commission, South Africa
• Justice Rohini Marasinghe, Chairperson of The Human Rights Commission and Former Supreme Court Judge, Sri Lanka
• Mr Wesley Gibbings, Journalist/Media Trainer, Trinidad & Tobago
• Ms Elizabeth Lwanga King, Development Advisor and Former UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Representative in Sierra Leone, Uganda

Latest news

• Read the Press Statement by the African Union, ECOWAS, West Africa Elders' Forum and the Commonwealth
• Commonwealth observers find Sierra Leone elections largely peaceful, but urge full transparency
• Sierra Leonians cast their votes in multi-tier elections
• Commonwealth Observer Group in Sierra Leone calls for peaceful, credible elections ahead of polls
• Former Nigerian Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to lead Commonwealth election observers in Sierra Leone
• “The path to development lies in unity”: Commonwealth Secretary-General addresses political candidates in Sierra Leone
• Commonwealth Secretary-General to witness national electoral pledge ceremony in Sierra Leone

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About Commonwealth Observer Groups (COGs)

The Commonwealth Secretariat is one of the original signatories to the 2005 Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation.

In addition, Commonwealth Observer Groups abide by the Commonwealth’s Revised Guidelines for the Conduct of Election Observation in Member Countries, which were adopted at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London in 2018.

These stipulate that:

• COGs are “independent, including of the Secretariat. Members of a COG are invited by the Secretary-General to be a part of the team and each member is invited in their personal capacity as an eminent Commonwealth citizen, not as a representative of any member country, government or political group”.

More information on the role and mandate of observers can be found in the Commonwealth Handbook on Election Observation. 

Media contact

• Josephine Latu-Sanft  Senior Communications Officer, Communications Division, Commonwealth Secretariat
• +44 20 7747 6476  |  E-mail