About Us

Composition

This Department was initially part of the Department of Finance and Administration. In February 2014, it was made to stand on its own as a Department and consists of two Units namely: Administration; and Logistics & Procurement.

The Department is made up of:

• 1 Director;

• 2 Chiefs;

• 4 Electoral Officers;

• 3 Assistant Electoral Officers.

Functions

The Department is responsible for ensuring that effective and efficient administrative support is provided to the Commission for its day-to-day operations and for the successful implementation of all electoral operations.

Accomplishments

In the period under review, the Department accomplished the following;

• Procured all sensitive and non-sensitive electoral materials for the successful conduct of all elections and bye-elections;

• Sorted and packed all electoral materials, equipment and machines at Headquarter, District Offices and Wellington warehouse;

• It also updated the Commission’s inventory lists;

• Developed and submitted to Management an Asset Management Template;

• Collaborated with the Department of Operations for the burning of all obsolete electoral materials as required by law.

Composition

This Department was initially part of the Department of Finance and Administration. In February 2014, it was made to stand on its own as a Department and consists of two Units namely: Administration; and Logistics & Procurement.

The Department is made up of:

• 1 Director;

• 1 Chief;

• 2 Electoral Officers;

• 3 Assistant Electoral Officers;

• 1 Administrative Assistant.

Functions

The Finance Department is responsible for all the day-to-day transactional accounting. In a larger context, its role extends right through managing the Commission’s financial resources and recording all financial transactions in order to prepare the financial statements.  

Accomplishments

• Produced and submitted the UNDP Expenditure Report for the period October-December 2013;

• Submitted the documentation/Questionnaire on “Review of budgetary Estimates for 2012/2013 Financial Year to the Parliamentary Committee with oversight responsibility for the Ministry of Internal Affairs;

• Submitted the 2013 Statutory Accounts to the Audit Service Sierra Leone;

• Received GoSL grant (Recurrent and Programme) for January-June and July to December 2014 including supplementary;

• Received Salary Grant for the period January to December 2014;

• Facilitated the signing of a Letter of Agreement between NEC and UNDP in respect of the Electoral Basket Fund (EBF) support to NEC 2014 work plan;

• Paid all staff emoluments and related expenses including taxes, NASSIT subscriptions and terminal benefits relating to the year.

• Facilitated the NASSIT Statutory inspection of records for the period January-June 2014;

• Submitted IMF Quarterly Agency Reports for 2014;

• Submitted the NEC 2015-2017 Plans and Budgets to the MOFED;

• Participated in the 2015-2017 bilateral budget discussions with various stakeholders hosted by MoFED;

• Acquired an Accounting Software, “Sage Evolution” which has been installed and tested;

• Produced documents on Budgetary Estimates 2014 for the Parliamentary Committee on Finance and also participated in ensuing Parliamentary discussions.

Composition

The Department is divided into two units; the Human Resource, Gender and Disability.

The Department is made up of:

• 1 Director;

• 2 Chiefs;

• 1 Electoral Officer;

• 1 Assistant Electoral Officer.

Functions

The Human Resource unit is responsible for the day-to-day management of the Commission’s Human Resource, in accordance with the Commission’s Human Resource Management Policy, Standing Orders (A, B and C) and the country’s Labour Laws. This includes performance appraisals, adequate control measures to manage staff promotions, rotations, postings and remunerations.

Gender and Disability unit is responsible for the day-to-day monitoring of the Commission’s gender and disability policy and the Country’s Labour Laws with regard to equal employment opportunities. The unit is also responsible for the mainstreaming of Gender and Disability issues in all operations of the Commission.

Accomplishments

• As part of its capacity building drive, the Department facilitated both Local and International trainings for selected staff.

• National trainings were done in-house and by other Institutions.

• Recruited Consultant in the following areas:

• Strategic Plan (2015-2019)

• Geographic Information Systems (G.I.S.)

• Human Resource Information Management Systems (HRIS), and Human Resource Information Management Systems (HRIS),

• Operational Review of Human Resource Management System, Standing Orders A&B and Development of Logistical Framework.

• Disability to develop Policy and Training Manual.

• Organize Senior Management Training for management Staff at the Civil Service Training College, Tower Hill, Freetown.

• Collaborated with other Departments and conducted a four day UNDP sponsored trainings on Gender Mainstreaming for all district staff. The trainings were conducted in two Regional Headquarter Towns of Makeni (for staff of Western and Northern regions), and Bo (for Southern and Eastern Regions); – Organized the Review of Gender Policy

Composition

The IT Department is made up the following:

• 1 Director

• 1 Chief

• 6 Electoral Officers

• 2 Assistant Electoral Officers

Functions

The Information Technology and Voters Roll Department is responsible for the management of the Commission’s Information Technology & Communication Systems as well as providing support to electoral operations relating to data analysis, presentations and storage.

Accomplishments

In the period under review, the Department accomplished the following;

• Collaborated with the National Registration Secretariat (NRS) for the design, production and distribution of the new Citizen’s ID card. This is intended to be a multi-purpose card, and to replace the current Voters ID.
• Trained the newly recruited IT staff of NRS and developed the database application software of NRS.
• Provided corporate mail service for all NEC staff for correspondence through the NEC website.

• Developed, in collaboration with NRS IT team, the Inventory Control Software for the operations and management of all the resources for the Civil Registration.
• Provided corporate mail service for all NEC staff for correspondence through the NEC website.
• Deployed a separate Local Area Network (LAN) with a server for the Sage Environment Accounting Software.
• Installed two servers on the general network in order to help in the control of network access and effective management of network resources.
• Facilitated the procurement and installation of a Human Resource software.
• Facilitated the procurement of GPS handsets and the recruitment of the GIS consultant to train the NEC IT staff in the use of the ArcGIS software, and the District

Composition

The Internal Audit Department is composed of the following:

• 1 Director

• 1 Chief

• 1 Electoral Officer

• 1 Assistant Electoral Officer

Functions

One of the key purposes of the Department is to assure the Commission of the adequacy and effectiveness of its internal control framework. It examines the effectiveness of all levels of Management in their use of the Commission’s resources in compliance with established procurement and financial policies and procedures. It ensures the compliance with national statutory regulations.

Accomplishments

In the period under review, the Department accomplished the following;

• Produced Annual Audit Plan for 2014 which was reviewed and approved by the Audit Committee for implementation.
• Produced a draft Audit Report of the Commission’s 2013 Statutory Account.
• Conducted Opening Year Stock taking and Petty Cash Count for 2014.
• Produced a Departmental Risk Matrix of the Commission.
• Conducted an independent price survey of goods, works and services consumed by the Commission.
• Produced and forwarded report on the Anti-Corruption Commission’s National Anti-Corruption Strategy working group.
• Conducted follow-up Audits on outstanding issues identified in the Commission’s 2011 and 2012 Statutory Account Audit Reports by Audit Service Sierra Leone (ASSL).

Composition

The Operations Department is composed of the following:

• 1 Director

• 4 Regional field Coordination Officers

• 1 Electoral Officer (EO)

• 1 Assistant Electoral Officer (AEO)

• 14 District Electoral Officers (DEOs)

• 14 Assistant District Electoral Officers (ADEOs)

• 15 Voters Education and Training Officers (VETOs)

• 15  Office Assistants

• 3 Regional Administrative Assistants

Functions

The Operations Department is responsible for developing the general electoral operational plan as well as coordinating and ensuring its implementation. It has the overall responsibility of overseeing the strategies and activities of the Field Coordination Unit. The Department is also responsible for the compilation of the Voters Register and plays a leading role in the delimitation of electoral boundaries.

Accomplishments

In the period under review, the Department accomplished the following;

• Conducted four (4) Paramount Chief Elections, three (3) Ward elections and One (1) Constituency election.

• Collaborated with the National Registration Secretariat (NRS) in the development of a proposed Civil Register;

• Liaised with key stakeholders like Statistics Sierra Leone at national level in the implementation of electoral plans and activities;

• Provided updates on all electoral operations for stakeholders meetings such as ONS/NSCCG, PROSEC, DISEC, PPLC and Election Basket Fund Steering Committee;

• Provided relevant electoral information, advice and logistics to request from members of the public, particularly institutions geared towards the promotion of democracy and good governance;

Composition

The Department of Legal Affairs, Research and Documentation is divided into two: the Legal Affairs Unit and Research & Documentation Unit. The Department’s work is augmented with the retained services of four Legal Practitioners.

The Department is made up of:

• 1 Director

• 2 Chiefs

• 2 Electoral Officers

• 1 Assistant Electoral Officer

Functions

The Department manages all legal related activities of the Commission. These include attending to litigations, preparation of contracts, gazetting of election related public notices and results, and the provision of legal opinion and advice through the coordination of the activities of four Legal Retainers.

It ensures the maintenance of a proper documentation of NEC activities and archiving. It also manages a resource center which is open to both staff and the public.

Accomplishments

In the period under review, the Department accomplished the following;

• Facilitated NEC engagement in several lawsuits

• Provided crucial legal advice/opinion and information to the Commission

• Compiled all Electoral regulations to be consolidated into a single text.

• Initiated the review of the Public Elections Act 2012.

• Initiated a documentary film project on the activities of the Commission between the 2007 and 2012 which covers Presidential Parliamentary, Local Council and Paramount Chieftaincy Elections.

• Facilitated the analysis and evaluation of the NEC Strategic Plan (2010–2014).

• Documented all NEC activities including elections.

Composition

The Department of Training and Outreach comprises two units:

• Training, Procedures and Voter Education Unit,

• External Relations/Outreach Unit

The Department is made up of:

• 1 Director

• 2 Chiefs

• 2 Electoral Officers

• 2 Assistant Electoral Officers

Functions

The Training, Procedures and Voter Education Unit is responsible for training NEC and related personnel on electoral processes, building the capacities of staff for professional growth, developing election procedures and providing voter education/sensitization for the populace on election and civic matters.

The unit is also responsible for organizing and coordinating all internal and external forms of training in order to enhance staff capacity building; developing user friendly manuals and facilitating effective voter education for various electoral processes.

External Relations/Outreach Unit

This Unit deals with media/public relation functions including liaison with political parties and other key stakeholders at both national and international levels. It promotes the Commission’s mission, through information sharing with stakeholders and the electorate. Its activities include; radio discussions at national and community levels, update of the NEC website, publishing of NEC newsletters and accreditation of election observers (for all elections conducted by NEC).

Accomplishments

In the period under review, the Department accomplished the following;

• Gender Mainstreaming Training workshop. The training was held in two phases: Phase 1- covering DEOs, ADEOs and VETOs in the Bombali, Western Urban., Western Rural, Port Loko, Kambia and Kono districts; held  in Makeni city on the 24^th and 26^th June, 2014 and Phase II– covering Bo, Bonthe, Moyamba, Pujehun, Kenema, Kailahun districts and Headquarter technical staff; held in Bo city 6^th  to 8^th July, 2014
• Management Training on Effective Leadership Skills, held at the Civil Service Training College, Freetown on the 11^th and 12^th December, 2014. Participants included the Executive Secretary and eight Directors of the Commission.
• Holding of Political Parties Liaison Committee (PPLC) meetings to discuss and resolve issues as they relate to various electoral processes like the conduct of bye-elections;
• Publication of quarterly NEC bulletin for information sharing at internal and external levels ( NEC Commissioners and staff, donor partners, the SLP, ONS, Civil Society Organizations etc);
• Updating of the NEC website with current electoral events.
• Engagement with national stakeholders like the Sierra Leone Police (SLP), Civil Society organizations, the ONS and Donor partners to discuss vital electoral related matters.
• Radio/Television discussion programmes and engagement with community radio stations through the Independent Radio Network (IRN)