Although he has set up his cabinet, questions about Julius Maada Bio’s presidency are still frequently posed at local and international fora.
Sierra Leoneans and the international community still doubt the credibility of the June-24 elections through which Bio became President.
The elections, they argue, is stolen in broad daylight and there is no way Bio can be President of Sierra Leone.
Granted that the people’s claim is watertight, no government should be set up as of now especially when the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) is the lone party in parliament. Parliamentary approval of presidential nominees should be done in the presence of other political parties.
The nominees must be vetted out to see if they can live up to the people’s expectations. This procedure does not exist in the current parliament as no nominee’s appointment was debated. Locally Bio is not widely recognised as President, and the international community too finds it difficult in seeing Bio a legitimate leader in light of the June elections.
US, UK, Ireland, UN, EU, AU, ECOWAS and other international organisations do not support Bio’s presidency as donor funds meant for development have been temporally withheld until a legitimate government is formed. Credible news reports say the US has withheld funds that was supposed to have been dished out to Sierra Leone.
MCC (Millennium Challenge Corporation) too has left Sierra Leone with its over USD400m meant for Sierra Leone. MCC is a US agency that sets out good governance benchmarks, and any country that meets the threshold takes home millions of dollars.
Sierra Leone would have been the beneficiary had Bio ensured free and fair elections. The IMF (International Monetary Fund) and the World Bank too are leaving Sierra Leone as they believe that Bio’s government is not legitimate. The IMF and the World Bank are key to Sierra Leone’s development as they finance most of the country’s projects.
EU too has stopped funding for Sierra Leone as they insist that ECSL (Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone) must produce the real result. ECSL is a body mandated by law to conduct and supervise all public elections in Sierra Leone with integrity and credibility.
Its boss, Mohamed Konneh has rebuffed calls to produce the result by polling stations saying “it is not part of the law.” The local election observer group, NEW (National Elections Watch) too rejected claims that Bio won the elections.
NEW boss, Marcella Samba Sesay made it clear that Bio “lost the elections” during a media interview just days after the elections.
In a subsequent press release, Marcella pointed that out that no candidate got the 55 percent threshold needed to avoid a run off.
By NEW’s claim, nobody can emerge as President without a second-round vote. How can Bio form a government when a true winner has not been ascertained? This question has become an albatross on Bio’s neck; until it is answered he will continue to have sleepless nights.
On the other hand, Samura Kamara who many consider winner of the June-24 elections carries the presidential title.
Many Sierra Leoneans hail him “President-elect” waiting to be sworn in either here or elsewhere. The nomenclature: ‘His Excellency” is written beneath Kamara’s portraits especially on social networks as
most of his supporters have vowed to address him in such title until the right thing is done.
As it stands, it appears as if a parallel government has been created with no one knowing who should be followed and obeyed. It is a tough moment for the ruling party, political analysts say.
At the moment, the only remedy is to call on Kamara to accept the result so that APC parliamentarians can take their seats for the country to move on. No moment’s rest as of now, as President Bio goes through high high-profile personalities in secular and religious circles.
The Arch Bishop and the Resident Minister, North-West region, Tamba Charles and Alpha Kanu respectively have prevailed upon Samura Kamara to accept Bio’s presidency so that the country could be placed back on track. Despite pleas and appeals, no sign exists that Kamara will accept the current results as they are.
Bio’s move in appeasing an opposition candidate after he had been declared winner of the elections, analysts, also noted, was first of its kind.
No President has won elections and prevailed on the losing candidate to accept him, a move that raised big doubt among SLPP members about Bio’s victory in the June elections.
At this point, it is clear that Bio did not win the elections, and must give way to the winner, Kamara who,credible news agencies, says will be restored soon. History which may thrill the public is about to repeat in Sierra Leone as Samura Kamara is set to take his right place in society.
About 70 years ago, President Siaka Probyn Stevens of the main opposition, All People’s Congress (APC) was restored to power after Prime Minister, Albert Margai refused to give up the presidency.
Stevens’ restoration was a move aimed at protecting democracy, the best form of government anywhere in the world.
Sierra Leoneans also witnessed another wave of democratic restoration, in 1997, when the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) was forcefully removed from power by Nigeria-led ECOMOG (ECOWAS Monitoring Group) troops and reinstalled President Ahmed Tejan Kabba.
The AFRC, led by Major Johnny Paul Koroma, seized power through the the gun within a year after Kabba was elected.
Almost 25 years, a similar political crises has gripped Sierra Leone as SLPP still retains power after it lost the June elections.
Widely considered as winner of June-24 elections, Dr Samura Kamara will be restored to the presidency.
No date or timeline for his restoration has been set, but signs are clear that it will take place within months.
The restoration which will be championed by the international community is aimed at creating a deterrent so that what happens in Sierra Leone cannot repeat itself in any part of Africa.
But,members of the public are jittery about the restoration as the outcome could be different.
Businessmen do not open their shops wide, stall owners do not stay late on the streets, most pubs and bars, except few, remain shut down. Drivers and riders too return home at the same time chickens roost.
A credible source has intimated this press that Kamara could be sworn in anywhere in West Africa and brought into Sierra Leone.
Credible news agencies who share their findings with this press indicate that the APC presidential candidate is engaging powerful nations particularly the
‘big five’ to see how democracy could be restored in Sierra Leone.
As calls for stepping down persists, Bio still maintains firm grip on power although he faces isolation by the community of nations. Pressure is still being mounted on him to relinquish power or face sanctions, travel and asset freeze.
The US State Department said in a tweet that they had spotted “off-sure accounts” which they would investigate owing suspicion of misappropriation of donor funds.
Over USD10m was donated to ECSL to conduct free and fair elections, but the objective for which the money was spent was never realised.
The doubt that Bio’s presidency is not genuine leaves Sierra Leone a divided nation, and who should Sierra Leoneans follow?
Bio or Samura.
