The National Commission for Democracy (NCD) Sierra Leone has joined the world to celebrate World Democracy Day. In Kenema District the ceremony took place at the Kenema City Council conference hall where stakeholders gathered to deliberate on the day. The chairman of the ceremony who doubles as NCD Commissioner East, Momoh Bockarie, said the concept of democracy is about the people and that the commission was created by an Act of Parliament to promote democracy in Sierra Leone.
He said the United Nations General Assembly in 2007 assigned 15th September each year as World Democracy Day, adding that the day is set aside for governments worldwide to look at things put in place to promote and sustain democracy, and also issues that threaten world democracy. He said in Sierra Leone, as a country that had gone through several rulings from military regimes to democratic rule, many measures and institutions have been setup to sustain democracy.
For his part, the facilitator of the event who doubles as the Regional Director of the Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone East, Sylvester Sidie Kallon, said Democracy Day is set aside to sensitise the masses on issues of concern to citizens, emphasising that the cornerstone of democracy is equality. He said, the day is meant for observing and promoting the democratic tendencies of human rights, inclusiveness, accountability and transparency.
By Saffa B. Moriba in Kenema