All of Sierra Leone’s eight registered political parties have signed an “Open and Safe Elections Pledge” to promote an electoral atmosphere free of violence and intimidation and to encourage women to participate in the election process. The country is slated to have presidential, parliamentary and local elections on Nov. 17.

A civic education film recently released in Nigeria asks the question, in Nigerian pidgin, “Aftercount, I Vote Wetin?” or “I Voted, Now What?” It was made by the Youngstars Foundation, a Nigerian nonprofit organization, with the goal of encouraging younger Nigerians to stay involved in the political process between elections. The group is run primarily by young people and has reached tens of thousands of youths in rural and urban Nigeria.

With elections just five weeks away, Algerian electoral authorities and other political actors still have time to implement measures that can enhance the transparency of the country’s May 10 parliamentary elections, according to a report released today by an international pre-election assessment delegation organized by NDI.

The delegation, which began its evaluation on March 31 and concluded today, is part of an international election observation mission organized by NDI at the invitation of the Algerian government.