President Bio Presides Over Swearing-in Ceremony of Electoral Commissioner South 

Sierra Leone’s President Dr Julius Maada Bio has presided over the swearing-in ceremony of the newly reappointed and approved Electoral Commissioner South, Edmond Sylvester Alpha, who assured of the Commission’s commitment to conducting free, fair, and credible elections in the country.

Secretary to the President, Dr Julius Sandy, cited Section 32(6) of Act No. 6 of 1991, which states that “a member of the Electoral Commission shall, before assuming the function of his office, take and subscribe before the President the Oath as set out in the Third Schedule to this Constitution”.

The Commissioner South, after subscribing to the oath of office, thanked President Julius Bio for his kind consideration to reappoint him as Commissioner South.

He expressed how gratified and honoured he was to give thanks and praises to God Almighty while expressing how appreciative and humbled he is to His Excellency President Bio for granting him the privilege.

Mr. Alpha recalled that 5 years ago he took a similar oath of office with a firm promise to uphold the constitutional mandate, values, principles and tenets of elections and democracy in tandem with national and international best practices. He informed the President of how proud he was to uphold these values to the best of his ability, despite the nature of his job.

The Electoral Commissioner South acknowledged and appreciated the high level of collaboration and teamwork that existed among them as commissioners, especially with the Chief Electoral Commissioner and Chairman. He assured the President that “together we shall strive to uphold the mutually inclusive processes of maturation and deepening of democracy in Sierra Leone. Elections are inadequate for democracy; they can occur without democracy, but democracy is impossible without elections”.

President Julius Maada Bio congratulated the Commissioner South on his reappointment and for his dedication to service and the nation. He also thanked and expressed appreciation to all the commissioners, including the chairman of the commission, for their commitment to serving the country.

“The nature of your job has kept you within the service for a reappointment. I want to wish you another successful tenure as the Electoral Commissioner South of the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone,” the President ended.