By Mariama Bah
As Commonwealth mediators set to land in Freetown in days mediate the election stand off, grassroot members of the main opposition, All People’s Congress (APC) have strengthened their calls for a re-run. The re-run, according to grassroot supporters, should be supervised by foreign officials and that Sierra Leone’s Chief Electoral Commissioner, Mohamed Kenewui Konneh should stay out of the process.
Konneh heads the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL), a body entrusted with the responsibility of conducting and supervising public elections in Sierra Leone. In what many say an open show of rigging, ECSL recently fraudulently pronounced Bio winner of the elections, but justified his action on the grounds that he was under threat.
The announcement resulted into election stalemate which would have landed Sierra Leone into an all-out conflict if the opposition party had resorted to violence. As the stalemate continues, the Commonwealth of which Sierra Leone is a member would be here shortly to mediate the election stand off for the country to be put back on track.
The team was here in Sierra Leone almost two weeks ago on a fact-finding mission that would provide an insight into how they would handle the electoral conflict. The Commonwealth negotiators would however come at a time several Sierra Leoneans have lost their lives in several waves of anti-government protests.
Sierra Leoneans took to the streets on almost two weeks ago against the electoral fraud and crunching economic hardship as they hope that life would come back to normal once Bio is out of the scene. Instead of cautioning the police to handle the protests with tact and professionalism, they were let loose to lord it over the protesters as many crumbled under the barrel of the gun.
In a hale of precision marksmanship, police and army fired live rounds and teargas canisters at the protesters to stop them from taking to the streets. Firing at armless and defenceless protesters, according to security analysts, is a clear violation of the rule of proportionality, but government does not care to bring the violators to justice, a move that deepens the stand off. It is however hoped that the mediators will take back the country to peace if done in the country’s interest.
However, the embattled President Julius Maada Bio and the opposition leader, Dr Samura Kamara as well as key stakeholders would be at the negotiation table with each defending their position. With the cash and cache and also held captive by the aura of power, Bio would not like to hear talks of a re-run election while Kamara, a key listener of the grassroot would likely call for fresh election. This is the second time Bio is snatching victory from Samura Kamara without any remorse. Bio was made President Sierra Leone in 2018 amid big doubt that he won the election.
But, he was given a go-ahead since APC then in governance had ruled Sierra Leone twice, and there was no way the party could go for another term. The international community was convinced that APC’s long stay in power in the 1770s, 80s and 90s led to the outbreak of the civil war that went on for 10 years. This time is a different case as Bio’s leadership has been tried, tested and proven, but nothing to write home about.
No matter the personalities of those involved in the mediation, Dr Samura Kamara would not risk playing second fiddle to Bio this time since a re-run is the only way out. The opposition leader was quoted as saying that “APC will continue to hold where it holds” meaning it would not recognise and accept Bio’s presidency.
No doubt, this disagreement between the two sides will be the centrepiece of the discussion throughout. Sierra Leone would remain in her current state or even deteriorate further if the mediating team fails to bring the two opposing parties together.
With full confidence, the low cadre members of the party are sure of their party being on the winning side. For them President Julius Maada Bio holds a “stolen mandate” as he does not win the June elections.
It is difficult for Bio to easily hand over power to APC, but he could do so once a re-run is held as he is sure to lose again. But, Bio however seems confident saying he would defeat APC hands down even if he runs several times with the party. This the first time for Sierra Leone to experience such post-election stalemate since the introduction of multi-party democracy in Sierra Leone.
From the outset, it is clear that Bio had wanted to avert a sad history of ruling Sierra Leone for only one term in multi-party democratic Sierra Leone. The rigging, election observers said, was too naked for all to see.
Credible sources at ECSL intimated this press that the election chief did not wait for the results from the provinces to be collated and tabulated so that he could get a fair representation of all regions.
According to sources, Konneh announced the elections as ordered by State House and that he should announce Bio as President and leave the rest to him. International and local observers condemned the electoral process calling it a non-transparent process. One of the most potent critics of the election was the EU Chief Election Observer, Invin Incir who said shots were fired during voting. She made the statement during a press conference held at Raddison Blu in Freetown two days after the elections.
No one expected all voters to cast their vote in situation where teargas and live rounds were fired. Even the opposition leader, Dr Samura Kamara narrowly escaped an assassination attempt while holding a meeting at APC headquarters in Freetown. Armed police officers abruptly arrived at the party’s main office on a shooting spree to assassinate Kamara and key members of the party so that Bio could have a headway. National Elections Watch (NEW), the umbrella body of civil society organisations that observes and reports on elections in Sierra Leone also expressed similar concerns.
NEW boss, Marcella Samba Sesay made it clear in a media interview that Bio did not win the elections since no candidate got the constitutional threshold of 55% needed to avoid a run-off. She is currently in London seeking refuge as she was threatened to be killed by supporters of the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party. It remains unclear whether Marcella would return to Sierra Leone to observe another election.
The elections chief, Konneh is at the centre of the election stalemate whose foundation he laid on the eve of the election. In his manipulation to ensure Bio’s victory, ECSL printed substandard and faceless voter identity cards which were used in the elections amid grave concerns raised by the opposition and many Sierra Leoneans.
Konneh also failed to produce the election results by polling stations and districts as demanded by the international community and the people of Sierra Leone. He is still defiant even in the face of travel bans and sanctions.
At the moment, Sierra Leoneans wait to see the conflict resolution model which Commonwealth will come up with as their action will determine whether Sierra Leone will be in peace or conflict.