The ECOWAS Network of Electoral Commissions, ECONEC, has met with the Independent Media Commission in Freetown on Tuesday, 22nd September, 2026.
The ECOWAS Ambassador to Sierra Leone, John Azumah, said the team is in the country to meet with election bodies, check progress on the Tripartite Recommendations, and find out what they need.
IMC Executive Secretary, Khalil Kallon, briefed the team on what the IMC has done on Tripartite Recommendation 76. He said the IMC has held consultations across the country and has submitted the report to the Ministry of Information and Civic Education, which has sent it to the Law Officers’ Department for drafting.
Mr. Kallon said the consultations showed that there is need to regulate social media and to give the IMC more powers to enforce the law. He also said the IMC is facing challenges such as lack of enough office space, office equipment, vehicles and motorbikes to deliver on the mandates of the commission.
He called on ECOWAS to support training for IMC staff and journalists, and to include the IMC in election observation missions so they can learn from other countries.
The meeting ended with a question and answer session on the work and needs of the IMC.
