In Sierra Leone, new UN envoy assesses preparations for elections
24 June 2008 - The newly appointed United Nations envoy to Sierra Leone is travelling around the West African country to assess the
level of preparations for upcoming local government elections next month.
Michael Schulenburg, who is the Acting Executive Representative of the Secretary-General, is on a week-long visit to
Kono, Kenema, Bo and Makeni provinces, where he is holding consultations with local councils, political parties,
electoral officials, women candidates and civil society groups, as well as the police and the army.
A statement from the UN Integrated Office in Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL) released yesterday said that Mr. Schulenburg would
reaffirm the world body's commitment to helping meet the peacebuilding challenges in the country.
Sierra Leone was wracked by a prolonged civil war during most of the 1990s. Last month the Security Council heard in a
briefing that the political and security situation in the nation was "generally calm," despite several violent recent
incidents involving supporters of the ruling All Peoples Congress (APC) and the opposition Sierra Leone Peoples Party
(SLPP).
ENDS