ECSL Chair Holds High-Level Bilateral Talks with India, Nigeria and Kenya Election Bodies
By James Kamara-Manneh
The Acting Chief Electoral Commissioner (CEC) and Chairman of the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL), Mr. Edmond Sylvester Alpha, has held a high-level bilateral engagement with the Chairman of the Electoral Commission of India (ECI), Mr. Gyanesh Kumar, on the margins of an international conference of heads of Election Management Bodies (EMBs).
The meeting comes as India assumes the 2026 Chairship of the Council of Member States of International IDEA, a role to be led by the ECI Chairman with support from the Indian International Institute of Democracy and Electoral Management (IIIDEM).
During the bilateral talks, the ECI Chairman outlined three key areas of support for Sierra Leone’s electoral process. These include the proposed adaptation and deployment of India’s ECINET digital election management application for use in Sierra Leone, with India offering to dispatch ICT experts to customize and enhance the platform to suit local conditions.
Secondly, the ECI Chairman announced that IIIDEM’s training facilities would be opened to ECSL officials, providing capacity-building opportunities across a wide range of electoral and democratic governance fields. IIIDEM is described as the world’s largest election and democracy training institute, with a 90-bed, state-of-the-art residential facility.
Thirdly, the ECI committed to sending a team of Indian election experts to Sierra Leone to share best practices in mutually agreed areas of electoral administration.
Responding, Mr. Alpha warmly welcomed the proposals, noting that India has previously supported Sierra Leone’s elections through the supply of indelible ink and capacity-building programmes for ECSL staff. He described the new offers as a continuation of a long-standing partnership and expressed confidence that cooperation would be further strengthened through a draft Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) currently under consideration by both institutions.
As a symbol of friendship, the ECI Chairman presented Mr. Alpha with a hand-painted Indian artwork.
On the sidelines of the conference, Mr. Alpha also held separate informal bilateral discussions with the Chairman of Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mr. Amupitan Joash Ojo, and the Chairman of Kenya’s Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), Mr. Erastus Edung Ethekon, focusing on potential areas of collaboration between the respective EMBs.
Mr. Alpha said the engagements have positioned ECSL to accelerate its development agenda through international cooperation, reinforcing Sierra Leone’s commitment to credible elections and strengthened democratic institutions through global partnerships.
