As Commonwealth mediators set to hold peace talks on the disputed June election, grassroot members of APC (All People’s Congress) have warned the presidential candidate, Dr Samura Kamara to go for either a re-count or a re-run.
The warning follows allegations of compromise against Kamara, a man whose hands Sierra Leoneans future lies. Kamara carries, in his bag, the future of APC members, the grassroot, petty traders, fishermen, businessmen, shoemakers and a majority of Sierra Leoneans.
Key APC executive members have been accused of accepting bribes from the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) so that they could play second fiddle in the mediation. They also urge parliamentarians and councillors to take their seats and work with the Bio regime. The allegations have weighed down hard on the officials, but none has made a response.
But, their robust stance in the mediation process will clear them of the allegations as the people of Sierra Leone hope for a positive outcome in the Commonwealth mediation. Threats of no re-count or re-run issued by the Information Minister few days ago also triggered the warning.
Chernoh Bah, during a media interview, outlined the parametres under which government would operate at the mediation table.
“The main talking point at the mediation is how government will strive to bring APC members of parliament as well as the councillors to work,” the minister informed Sierra Leoneans.
But, the minister has been bashed at by several sectors of society particularly APC’s grassroot members. With a re-count, the grassroot are sure of getting the real results while a re-run offers them hope of another victory. One of the grassroot members, Foday Bamoi Kamara warns against the party taking part in goverance if any of the two options is not respected.
“We grassroot members expect Dr Samura Kamara to demand the real results of the elections, and if they are not produced, there must be a re-count of the votes, and the re-run should be the last option on the table,” Kamara urged the APC presidential candidate.
For most of the grassroot members, the election is not yet over, and the re-run should be an APC’s deal or no deal. The call for the two options have been echoed time and again in several quarters including social media platforms, and Kamara should dare not go against it or face the music.
Another grassroot member, Kadiatu Fofanah, a petty trader appears not comfortable with the seeming slow pace at which the APC candidate operates amid SLPP (Sierra Leone People’s Party)’s threats of no other election. She calls on Kamara to stand firmly with the grassroot to ensure that stolen votes are returned to the people of Sierra Leone.
“I am not too happy with the weakness of Dr Samura Kamara who appears too quiet and dull in the face of danger. He should act tough to tell Bio that he would not accept his presidency,” she said. However she is hopeful that Kamara would respect the people’s aspirations.
A trader on Abacha Street, Alimatu Kamara (not her real name) also sounded a note of caution for Samura Kamara who, she said, had to act tough during the mediation to save the grassroot. Like other traders, Alimatu is saddened by an economic crunch known to be the worst in history, but she remains hopeful of a better life once Bio goes out of the scene.
“We voted for Samura Kamara in the June elections, but the votes were turned over to SLPP to give Bio victory which we would not accept. But, we look up to Samura Kamara and other strong members of the party,” she emphasised.
Alimatu also reminded Samura Kamara and his team about how the police fired teargas to get them off Abacha Street when no market facility has been constructed by government. The traders, she said, were put back on their stalls when they threatened to stage a nation-wide protest.
What about our stalls and tables that have been destroyed? What about our goods that have been stolen during constant police raids? These questions go unanswered. She also draws the mediators’ minds to those who have lost their lives in the struggle for democracy as well others still languishing behind bars for protesting and petitioning government.
Countless residents in opposition strongholds were arrested in the August 10, 2022 protests and signs of getting back their freedom remains faint. Even those who were arrested during registration the period are still in detention. Waves of arrest and intimidation, analysts say, are not carried out without a purpose; they aim at creating terror in opposition heartlands to scare voters away and help the incumbent government remains in power.
Unlike previous elections in Sierra Leone which went well after counting despite few challenges, the June 24, 2023 elections comes with its own problems. It exposes the weaknesses of public institutions especially those entrusted with the responsibility of overseeing elections.
The Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL), Political Parties Regulation Commission (PPRC), the Sierra Leone Police (SLP) and the Judiciary were criticised by EU press release of October, 2021. The release tagged these institutions as those that are not worthy of trust.
ECSL Chief, Mohamed Kenewui Konneh alongside other election management bodies put up the highest resistance to calls for free, fair and transparent elections in Sierra Leone. He constantly turned down requests made by the diplomatic community, opposition politicians and the people of Sierra Leone to hold credible elections in the interest of peace and stability.
He started off what many called a rogue move by failing to publish the voters’ register and printing substandard and faceless voter identity cards, a precursor to the declaration of fraudulent election results.
Konneh was emboldened by other election management bodies particularly PPRC which has been favouring government in all its dealings with political parties.
Its head, Abdulai Massiande Bangura is known for imposing fines on APC politicians for slight ethical breaches sparing those of the ruling party. The police also come in handy in carrying out their own side.
As if not restrained by any rule or convention, the police usually quickly release the trigger in quelling down disorders in communities perceived as opposition heartlands with the aim of keeping the voters in perpetual fear.
The discrimination became clear since the police usually peacefully calm down situation in the South-East regions when they take to the streets.
Of course, the Judiciary with whom the buck stops in terms of electioneering has appeared to show more favour to the ruling party by way of its rulings.
The judges started showing their ways when they accepted 16 SLPP petitions and rejected those of the APC in the early days of 2018. The trend continued on to the moment the judges’s verdicts resulted into the forceful removal of 10 APC parliamentarians and replaced by those from SLPP.
The courts also handed down a verdict in support of a proportional representation system when no condition for it, according to legal experts, existed.
APC politicians would have also seen no justice had they taken the June election dispute to court, and the only weapon in such a situation is a boycott. APC’s action at the mediation table will determine the grassroot’s response.