Africa Center for Strategic Studies

Colloquium on African Elections: Best Practices and Cross-Sectoral Collaboration The National Democratic Institute, 2010. Elections are complex multi-stage cycles that require close coordination among many partners. The security services play a vital role in such collaborative efforts by performing pre-election threat assessments and response plans, actively participating in electoral coordinating bodies, and providing a safe and secure environment that supports the process in an impartial manner. [PDF]

Security System Reform in Sierra Leone and the Role of the Office of National Security
By Brigadier General (ret.) Kellie Hassan Conteh. The Global Facilitation Network for Security Sector Reform, 2008.

Sierra Leone’s security sector has been significantly transformed since the country emerged from civil war. Intelligence offices were reformed, a National Security Council created, inter-agency coordination improved, and the security sector is generally less politicized. This transformation process helped lay the groundwork for Sierra Leone’s post-conflict return to free, fair, and safe democratic elections. [PDF]

Security System Reform in Sierra Leone and the Role of the Office of National Security. By Brigadier General (Ret) Kellie Hassan Conteh. The Global Facilitation Network for Security Sector Reform, 2008 [PDF] Sierra Leone’s security sector has been significantly transformed since the country emerged from civil war. Intelligence offices were reformed, a National Security Council created, inter-agency coordination improved, and security is generally less politicized. Among many government institutional reforms, this transformation process helped lay the groundwork for free, fair and safe democratic elections in 2007.

Focus on Elections and Security. By ACE Encyclopaedia. http://aceproject.org/ace-en/focus/elections-and-security Equitable and dependable security is essential to maintain an electorate’s confidence and commitment to democratic contests, which sometimes heighten tensions. Advanced planning, training, and extensive coordination are just as critical to free, fair, and safe elections as appropriate deployments of security personnel.