United States Senate Professional Staff Member John Tomaszewski is visiting Sierra Leone and Liberia from June 21-29.
A dispatch from Washington, D.C., says while visiting the two neighboring countries, Mr. Tomaszewski, a Senior Professional Staff Member on the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations for Ranking Member Jim Risch (Republican-Idaho), will meet with a variety of government and civil society actors to examine democracy, governance, and human rights issues, particularly in relation to elections, in both Sierra Leone and Liberia.
Sierra Leone conducted presidential elections over the weekend amid reports of violence and death. Votes from across the country are being counted in the capital, Freetown with incumbent President Julius Maada Bio of the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) said to be in a comfortable lead against main challenger, Dr. Samura Kamara of the All People’s Congress (APC).
Liberians are gearing up for presidential and representative elections in October in which President George Weah is seeking a second term in office.
According to the dispatch, Congressional Staff Delegations regularly visit and meet with U.S. Embassy teams around the world as part of the Legislative Branch’s oversight of the Executive Branch departments, the budget, and U.S. development assistance. Dispatch
