In the aftermath of a brutal war that ravaged Sierra Leone from 1991 to 2002, many have turned to violence as a political campaign tool. To mitigate the use of this tactic, IFES is resurrecting a violence mitigation effort that was first launched in 2006.

Sierra Leone has had two sets of elections since the end of the bloody war that crippled the nation. All elections since then have seen the use of intimidation and force by the major political parties. To counteract this trend, in November 2006, Sierra Leone’s political parties and the Political Party Registration Commission (PPRC) first drafted the Political Party Code of Conduct (CoC). This code was created to help make political actors aware of behavior that could ignite violent conflict and get them to agree to avoid engaging in it.

To ensure this code of conduct didn’t exist on paper only, in 2007 IFES further aided in the creation of the District Code of Conduct Monitoring Committees (DCMCs). These committees were established in all 14 electoral districts of Sierra Leone. They are composed of district electoral officers from the National Election Commission, officers from the PPRC, members of district Sierra Leone Police (SLP) and representatives of political parties and civil society organizations. IFES also drafted the initial guidelines for the work of the DCMCs.

The DCMCs played a major role in promoting political tolerance and non-violence by providing a forum for dialogue during the 2007 and 2008 election processes.

In the lull between the 2007 and 2012 elections the program petered out. In anticipation of the 2012 general elections, IFES is once again working to get it up and running. This time around, IFES will take the program one step further by fostering discussion not only through radio programs, but through face-to-face sessions as well.

IFES and the Political Party Registration Commission have already begun the process of revising the DCMC guidelines for this new version of the program.

In addition, IFES organized seven two-day conflict management-training sessions for all 14 DCMCs. Co-funded by the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Sierra Leone (UNIPSIL), the new curriculum not only teaches the basics of conflict management, but also allows more seasoned members to deliberate on the complex issues surrounding conflict mitigation and violence prevention.

One of the lead facilitators of the trainings under the current USAID-funded “Promoting Inclusive Elections" (PIE) program is IFES Program Manager Augustus Davies.

All 182 DCMC members attended the sessions, representing a 100 percent turnout.

The PPRC Registrar, Abraham John, said of the trainings: “This training empowered [the DCMCs] to be instrumental in pre-empting disputes and conflicts and be able to resolve tensions relating to elections and other conflicts between political parties.”