APC (All People’s Congress)’s boycott of governance at all levels (parliament and councils) and refusal to take election dispute to court has been praised by a visiting diplomat who considers himself ‘a real friend of Sierra Leone’.
Speaking to Nightwatch Press on his return to Sierra Leone, the diplomat said APC’s demands if taken seriously and approached in the nation’s best interest will add to the country’s democratic credentials.
It also indicates that there is vibrant political process in Sierra Leone.
He said if the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) and the main opposition, APC had done everything as recommended by the communiqué, it would set again Sierra Leone’s democracy on a sound footing.
The communique is a product of a three-day Commonwealth-brokered peace dialogue at Bintumani Hotel in Freetown, and its sincere would also establish Sierra Leone a leading democracy that will be the envy of the world.
APC’s stance, he said, exposed the shortcomings of Sierra Leone’s electoral and governance processes that have been the cause of a recurrent friction between APC and SLPP after every election.
He argues that there was hardly any election in Sierra Leone that does not end in one or several parties claiming fraud or rigging with most times the incumbent on the winning side.
“SLPP’s persistent appeals to a party that has refused to participate in governance shows that the nation is not prepared to go back to the old days of the one party system,” he stressed. The peace communique stresses that the two parties must recognise the importance of each other in administering the country.
If SLPP government works with APC as well as the mediators of the dialogue seriously and hunker down and address the recommendations, then APC will return to State House after the governance system shall have been fixed.
“Addressing the recommendations in the communiqué, will also strengthen the rule of law and do away with the concept of ‘buff case’ (impunity) which has been a threat to Sierra Leone’s democratic process for decades,” the diplomat confided in this medium.
Apart from issues relating to non-participation in governance, the APC also has concerns on police and military brutality as well as the indiscriminate arrest and detention of supporters which has been a trending issue in the nation’s body politic.
Denial of citizens the right to assembly, procession and protest amounts to the deprivation of the people’s right to freely express views and opinions about government’s plans and actions that have been affecting them.
An overbearing, oppressive and violent police force coupled with the military’s assistance to the police in times of distress has been the norm for successive regimes of the post-independence period.
The police force, for decades, was a tool to suppress free speech and assembly and the system continues today. The law on public order requires one who wants to protest to seek permission from the police, and non-compliance leads to a fine or imprisonment or both.
Which police chief in his right mind would grant a public request to protest against his boss that appointed him?
By addressing the recommendations in the communiqué pertaining to people’s relationship with the police, the nation can finally reap the benefit of a vibrant Public-Police partnership especially in terms of community safety and security.
“The issue of state security including the police, military and prisons being used by government to oppress and stifle the people’s progress in the interest of the executive and his political party will be a thing of the past if President Maada Bio and SLPP take the recommendations very seriously. Instead of being seen as a hindrance to the democratic process, the police and military will look after issues in the dialogue addressed to be working in the interest of the people and not the president that hires them. They will put the interest and security of the state above all else and will not choose the president over the constitution or rule of law,” the diplomat stated.
He said after years of one-party rule which brought about an 11-year civil conflict, President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah and Ernest Bai Koroma tried to keep the nation’s politics away from state capture by the police, army, judiciary and election management bodies.
By capturing heads of these institutions by way of appointment and financing, the incumbent is always assured of electoral victory amid glaring electoral irregularities.
Such situations, the people are forced to speak no language other than that of protest especially when their cry for either a re-count or rerun is treated with a pinch of salt.
Government’s response to the protests is always deadly as the police and the army hit targets at close range in complete disregard of the proportionality rule. But, they justify their action by offering arguments of preventing the nation from sliding into anarchy.
“By staying out of the running of government long enough to force SLPP into setting up committees to address the management of elections across the country, dealing with political prisoners, sorting out the role of the judiciary in vote stealing, addressing the role of the police and army in the process, Sierra Leone is at the most critical juncture in her march to democratic progress. Imagine if SLPP and APC genuinely work to address the recommendations in the communiqué, then Sierra Leone is poised to become the envy of the democratic world. This could put to rest the trending issues that have always stood in our way during and after the election process. This will be the nation’s saving grace. Therefore, when we consider all the issues APC wants to see addressed before returning to House and taking matters to the judiciary, if they are done in the interest of the people, we can be rest assured that the issues emanated from 24th June, 2023 elections will not raise their ugly heads in 2028 as the rule of law, constitution, and democracy would have all been given a shot in the arm,” the diplomat expressed hope.
While the communiqué is not legally binding, addressing the recommendations can lead to a situation where they can be the basis for constitutional changes that will put away issues that have continued to mar the country’s electoral process including but not limited to arrest, detention and killing of opposition supporters.
The police, army and judiciary will also stop working in the interest of the ruling party, and manipulating the electoral commission.
In a nutshell, APC’s refusal to go to court, if treated with the seriousness it deserves, has once more put Sierra Leone’s democracy on a sound footing.