SLPP (Sierra Leone People’s Party) has suffered another shameful defeat in the just Concluded paramount chieftaincy election in the northern district of Kambia. A government- sponsored candidate who contested the elections in Tonko Limba Chiefdom lost woefully.
A former close Protection guard to former President Ernest Bai Koroma won the elections. Alhaji Bangura polled 304 votes while the second candidate got 200. The SLPP candidate was among the worst performing candidates in the elections.
Those following both local and national elections have referred to the defeat of SLPP candidate as a big sign. Kambia was one of the districts considered to be in sympathy with SLPP.
In 2018, the party made significant progress in the polls, a move that created fear among APC (All People’s Congress) stalwarts. But, SLPP’s latest performance in subsequent elections has diffused the fear.
Candidates for the SLPP have lost almost in all elections they have run. In the just-concluded paramount Chief election in Yele Chiefdom in Tonkolili district, an SLPP candidate also lost.
The SLPP candidate chased the winning APC candidate in the first round. He was however knocked off in the run-off. The winning candidate now rules and no petition has been filed against him. No petition means an acceptance of the new paramount chief.
A good number of Sierra Leoneans has said it is bad for the ruling party to suffer such defeats in elections. The defeats ring a loud bell for the defeat of SLPP in the coming elections. In another recent development, SLPP-sponsored candidate lost SLFA (Sierra Leone Football Association) election.
Information reaching this press from reliable sources shows that delegates received fabulous sums of money hovering between US$1,000 and US$3,000 each to vote for the government candidate. Despite the money spent, Kofi Nyakoi lost the elections to the amazement of government.
The New Direction had hoped that their candidate would win the electoral contest. Hardly did government know that a deep political game had been played.
Those who closely followed the elections told this press that the outgoing President did the bidding. Prominent candidates backed out from the race to the SLFA presidency very close to the election. The withdrawals of the candidates signalled a winning for the PAOPA candidate.
Except for few elections where party recorded victory, SLPP also lost almost bye-elections recently held throughout the country. Despite the amount of money spent, the party got no victory.
In Kabala in the north of Sierra Leone, SLPP also lost a parliamentary bye-election there. Despite actual threats of violence employed by the ruling party, the election result did not go in their favour.
The rate at which SLPP is losing chieftaincy and bye- elections is becoming an apparent factor why SLPP would not like to conduct local council elections. It was also the main reason SLPP Government recently moved for a non-partisan local council elections.
Government envisions and fears a disgraceful defeat in the local council election. In expression of its fear, SLPP Government had earlier put out a press release explaining why it wanted to defer 2022 local council elections to 2024.
Government’s move, the public says, is nothing other than a fear that has gripped government. The press release met serious opposition from the European Delegation to Sierra Leone and other members of the diplomatic community. In a counter press release, the EU condemned government’s press release and insisted that the elections be held in the stated dates being 2022 for local council elections and 2023 for the presidential and parliamentary elections.
As 2022 local government elections is already on the way, government’s fear continues. Another highly experienced politician who witnessed first-hand, the post-independence political history of Sierra Leone explained that local council elections are always litmus tests for the victory of APC over SLPP.
The politician took this press back to 1967, a date in which APC and SLPP contested local council elections in readiness for the Presidential elections that followed shortly. During the 1967 local council elections, he went on, SLPP was defeated by APC. “It was a great sign for the APC,” he said.
He went on to state that when it came to the national elections during that year, APC won the most parliamentary seats which meant a defeat for the SLPP. The SLPP was not pleased with the defeat and fomented violence and chaos leading to the army’s political intervention.
The controversial political events set in motion a number of political occurrences that are reminiscent of the old days. The political history also repeated in 2007. When Sierra Leone was heading for the presidential and parliamentary elections that year, local council elections were held in which the APC emerged victorious.
The victory APC got in the local council in 2007 was a sign of APC’s triumph in the presidential and parliamentary race. In the national elections that followed, SLPP was defeated hands down.
SLPP got no seat in the 21 parliamentary seats in Freetown.
The time is here again. Both political parties would go first for the local council elections in the near future.
The party in power is less convenient with facing APC in the ballot box at a very crucial time like this. A defeat of the SLPP in the forthcoming local council elections also signals its defeat in the presidential elections.
Signs have already shown. SLPP has lost subsequent elections than ever before. The argument for an SLPP’s second coming has taken the elections argument to a wider dimension. The argument holds that despite its poor performance in state governance, the international community is there to do the bidding.
According to the argument, SLPP has met the threshold of fiscal management recommended by the International Monetary Fund and other international financial institutions. Government had received accolades from the international community for its prudent management of state finances.
The Bio administration has suspended subsidies on fuel and other essential commodities. Government also cut down expenditure on several sectors of the economy thereby enhancing national reserves. But, the prudence management meant hardship for men in the street.
These prudent measures compel some Sierra Leoneans to argue that Bio will come again. But, is it a respect for the will of the majority of Sierra Leoneans or the will of the international community. Time will provide answer to the question.