The magic No. 7 for years ending with that number in which the APC had won previous elections was missed this time round with not-so-bright prospects for the party, which can still win because the date of the elections was the 7th. There were also the statements from some party functionaries that if Rtd. Julius Madda Bio was elected as the presidential candidate of the SLPP they would go to sleep but to the contrary they have been rather hyperactive. The provisional results of the elections have not given the feeling to expectant voters to jump to the streets in celebration of victory.
The elementary governmental principles of continuity and change have continued under this regime albeit some of the legacy of the previous regime has been claimed by them not least in the sphere of road building. The reign of peace too, which was achieved by the SLPP, has also been partly claimed by the APC.
CO-PRESIDENCY IN THE OFFING
It is now well known that to all intents and purposes if elected as President, Dr. Samura Kamara would be a puppet of Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma who remains the life leader of the APC. As a result no change in policy direction would be expected. This would be contrary to clairvoyant prophesies that the elections would bring a change in the country. The Co-Presidency plan would be periled if the APC is kicked out of office though the life leader would still lead his party.
UNDEMOCRATIC RULE
It is now patently clear that if the APC is rejected by the populace it would be owing to corruption and lack of the observance of the Rule Of law. This has resulted in the low living standards of the majority of citizens in spite of our country’s abundant mineral and natural resources.
The APC has the nerve to dismiss the advice of the IMF and saddle posterity with undue debt because they would not be alive anyway and their close descendants would be insulated by ill-gotten gains. In like manner with impunity they dismissed the work of the Constitutional Review Committee after months of hard work by a cross section of eminent citizens.
FAILED ARTIFICES
If the APC fails it is not because of a death of artifices and if they succeed it is because of their use. Some have code named these artifices as their 99 tactics and they scarcely fail. One of their tactics lately was the resort to occultism, which does not seem to have paid off in this instance. This time round the Holy Spirit seems to have interceded on behalf of the Christians and it would appear that light is about to overcome darkness.
Among other tactics were the boundary delimitation lopsided on the northern stronghold side of the APC, the 3rd term failure, the 55% threshold failure, the salaries for paramount chiefs, the last minute compensation by the Sierra Leone Roads Authority for road encroachment, and the service held at the military for the executed military and other officers, the offer of T-shirts and money to voters is common to both parties. As of this time of writing it is not known whether the tactics above will succeed, but what is certain is whether the APC succeeds or not, Sierra Leone will not be the same again. The next Government is likely to pay more heed to the voices of the people in accordance with the Latin proverb Vox populi, Vox DEI (the voice of the people is the voice of God).
There was a rainbow that surrounded the sun (the symbol of the APC) that was interpreted by the party stalwarts as a sign of victory, assuming the functions of the divine.
There were all–night prayers for a god fearing leader and it appears that those prayers were answered. Like Abraham Lincoln said “You can fool some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.” The winning party should take note of this maxim.