Three days more for the publication of the disaggregated results by the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL) as demanded by the election investigators of the Tripartite Committee, the people of Sierra Leone and the international community.
The committee was launched in November, last year to investigate alleged irregularities of the June elections and proffer recommendations to the government to ensure that all future elections are free, fair and credible. By way of investigation, the committee will establish what happened, how did it happen and what could be done to prevent it from happening again.
The election investigation body replaced the courts which were distrusted by the APC owing to the absence of justice. The opposition feared that the election petition would either be thrown out of court or ruled in favour of the incumbent, President Julius Maada Bio.
In a bid to ensure a thorough probe, the Tripartite Committee demands that the results be published by polling stations and districts so that the actual winner could be determined. But, ECSL is in no mood to furnish the committee as demanded as the entire electoral process is shrouded in secrecy.
However, the demand for the disaggregated results has been made several times by the committee, but the election boss, Mohamed Kenewui Konneh has turned a deaf ear saying he is under no legal obligation to respond to such demand.
“There is no law in Sierra Leone that says I should produce disaggregated results after election,” the election boss constantly argued while urging the APC or other parties to seek redress in the courts.
Konneh’s argument about the non-production of the disaggregated results is now a blueprint for several ECSL officials who made similar comments while responding to comments and queries by the public and the media.
ECSL, a body mandated by law to conduct and supervise public elections throughout Sierra Leone, is under obligation to ensure that electoral process is honest and transparent.
In the exercise of such functions, the electoral institution should produce the results by polling stations and districts so that the voters could be satisfied that their votes reflect their will. The people will accept and work with anyone announced winner of the polls as long as the process is a credible one.
The production of the disaggregated results, according to election experts, is an internationally acclaimed best practice which must be practised by all electoral institutions to ensure fair play and all parties feel satisfied.
All former Chief Electoral Commissioners: James Jonah, Christiana Thorpe and Mohamed N’fa Alie Conteh published results by polling stations and districts to convince Sierra Leoneans that the electoral process was done in an open and fair manner.
All past election bosses also defended their actions when they were called upon by the election investigators, but Konneh treads on a different path apparently to evade accountability.
As the resistance continues, the election boss also found it difficult to clarify several issues on the 60% results submitted at the Tripartite Committee as the investigation as still on-going.
APC has however submitted the RRFs (Results Reconciliation Forms) to the investigation and they indicate that the opposition leader, Dr Samura Kamara is reportedly on the lead, a move that has served a constant source of worry for the ruling party.
Reliable sources have intimated this press that the Tripartite Committee will still release its findings and recommendations if the ruling party fails to defend the results submitted and to produce the dis aggregated results. But, it is unclear whether the ruling party will accept and implement the recommendations that will come out just in days.
ECSL’s failure to show the election investigators clean records after the polls is a continuation of a stance previously taken by the election boss who also refused to publish the voter register ahead of the June polls.
The publication of the registration data is also another important step towards electoral transparency and accountability as the total number of voters should be known before voting. Neighbouring Liberia set the pace for Sierra Leone by releasing the voter register to the Liberians before they went to the polls. Liberia today enjoys a stable democracy by holding free and fair elections.
It is also argued that the election boss in Sierra Leone also fails to fails make the voter register public to ensure what many say a sinister cover-up of the rigging tricks that will see SLPP in power in the next five years but at the expense of peace.
The non-publication of the voter register was also a thorny and topical issue during a press briefing held at New Brookfields hotel in Freetown two weeks ahead of the June election.
It was during the press briefing that the opposition leader, Dr Samura Kamara called for the resignation of the Chief Electoral Commissioner and his team owing to his failure to bring the voter register to public domain for proper scrutiny.
With the support of government, Konneh fought back saying he was not appointed by Samura Kamara but President Julius Maada Bio to whom he was answerable and accountable to rendering Bio’s claims of an independent ECSL farcical.
The election chief also did not hesitate to invoke the laws when pressure mounted on him as he relied on the Constitution of Sierra Leone. He argued that ECSL is an independent institution and not subject to the direction or control of any person or authority, a move seen as a mere misconstrue of the constitutional clause. The autonomy clause should not be interpreted that Konneh should be from criticisms and questions when he steps outside the law.
Officials of the ruling party also supported his move as Dr Prince Harding said during an SLPP press briefing that Konneh would conduct the elections at all cost and it came to pass.
The embattled election boss held an election whose result is still the subject of a huge controversy spelling a bleak future for the country as every sector of economy is badly affected. As threats of protest hang on the air, it is safe to say that the election has come but not gone with the people expressing their frustration with the Bio regime at every tick of the clock. Every Sierra Leonean blames the current economic hardship on the unresolved election stand off in years to come.
Konneh is however not moved by the threats of revolts or civil disobedience as many see him as a man more PAOPA than the one who appointed him.
Observers in the media and the public accused Konneh of laying the foundation of election rigging long ago since election is not rigged on the day of voting but the product of a long-term ploy as seen in the controversy between ECSL and the EU.
The disagreement ensued between the two when ECSL initially suggested that the election be held in 2024 and not 2023 owing to the outbreak of Corona Virus which many said disrupted Bio’s rule for a year.
President Bio had wanted to lend a leaf from the book of former President Ernest Koroma who was given a year as a result of disruption caused by the Ebola which struck the country in May, 2014.
EU however did not accept the suggestion for holding the election as seen in a press release of October, 2021 as it was seen as a mere delay tactics.
The election boss was also furious when EU and other members of the international community accused ECSL of failing to implement recommendations made after the 2018 general elections.
Mohamed Konneh was bold enough to challenge the international community that Sierra Leone is a “sovereign state” implying that he would not bow to international pressure come what may. Majority of Sierra Leoneans also took his statement to mean that he would conduct the election in a manner that befits the PAOPA regime and not that of the people of Sierra Leone and the international community.
Many Sierra Leoneans were taken aback by the defensive moves of the head of the elections in a country known for free and fair elections years after the war came to an end in 2002.
As the fiasco raged on at a time the election was close by, many Sierra Leoneans looked back at the bulldozing tactics adopted by the Bio regime to have Konneh as the Chief Electoral Commissioner.
The Constitution, the country’s highest, provides for a consultation between government and opposition political parties prior to the appointment of the election chief.
At the time of his appointment, Mohamed Konneh was also head of the Financial Intelligence Unit, a body set up by law and funded by public funds,
Such post of public trust disqualified outright from heading the electoral body to ensure neutrality on every step of the way.
The law states that a public officer is not qualified to head the agency and Konneh is a public officer at the time of hios appointment. Thus, his resolve to protect SLPP-led government is not doubt, says a local activist, as he who pays the piper calls the tune.
In a recent address, he expressed confidence that government is ready to welcome the recommendations of the Tripartite Committee despite the current challenges, but a big question mark hangs on the implementation. President Bio is known, in recent times, for signing without implementing, but this time could be a different one.