A vox pop conducted by Nightwatch press shows that the people of Sierra Leone are curious about Knowing and seeing what is going on in the Election Investigation Committee (EIC) set up to look into alleged irregularities of the June 24, 2023 elections.
The EIC has six months to end its mission beginning from the day it was launched by President Julius Maada Bio in October, 2018. It has entered its third month with complaints of non-cooperation going viral against government.
The EIC came into existence after the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) and the main opposition, All People’s Congress (APC) struck a deal to end a post-election stalemate that threatened the country’s peace and security.
The peace deal resulted into a communiqué stating in Resolution-3 that “…The President, in consultation with the APC party, will constitute a Cross-Party Committee on Electoral Systems and Management Bodies Review with a three-way leadership nominated by the Government of Sierra Leone, the APC party and Development Partners…to examine electoral systems, structures and electoral processes of the 2023 multi-tier electoral cycle” a portion of the communiqué reads.
It was a three-day dialogue brokered by the Commonwealth, African Union and the sub-regional bloc, ECOIOWAS (Economic Community Of West African States).
Although EIC is highly important, little or nothing is known about its work since its officials have been working in the dark.
Key government functionaries have been accused of operating from behind the scenes in such a way that the people are deprived of the much-needed information.
However, once in a while, relevant bodies particularly, officials of the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL) would come out to defend their institutions where their interest is touched.
But, once the media are given important place in the committee’s hearings, every doubt about its work will be laid to rest.
It is also the hope of Sierra Leoneans that once EIC’s proceedings are televised, its work will be transparent and the people of Sierra Leone would have an opportunity to be au fait with every step on the way.
Speaking to this press in an exclusive interview, Businesswoman, Isatu Mansaray tells Nightwatch that the election probe is much more important than any other investigation at the moment since it touches the collective will and aspirations of Sierra Leoneans.
“The people wanted to see justice at work, and should be done in the open so that Sierra Leone would accept every recommendation that comes out from the committee,” she said adding that the people of Sierra Leone voted for change which was allegedly diverted without justification.
“We are eager about seeing what has gone wrong with the people’s votes,” she emphasised.
Isatu’s concerns are also shared by Francess Jusu saying she is not opposed to any electronic broadcast of the committee’s proceedings as long as peace and stability is restored in Sierra Leone.
“As for now, I am not comfortable with the current state of our country’s economy as well as the security. Everything is just going haphazard as prices of commodities shooting up as if no one was in control. But, I hope that there will be normalcy after the truth shall have been told by the committee,” she reposed confidence in the tripartite committee. As a mother, Isatu says, she needs a safe environment for the children of this country, adding that only truth will bring respite.
Sierra Leone after the June polls, she said, had never seen peace and stability as opposition politicians could not see eye-to-eye with those of the ruling party.
“They have not seen it worthwhile to work with President Julius Maada Bio as they do not see him the actual winner of the elections,” she said.
But, she is hopeful that once the truth is established, everyone can take back his rightful position in the party and the country.
“I don’t care about who is in governance or not, but I care for the country and our children’s future,” she expressed deep concerns.
Other Sierra Leoneans particularly the business community in Freetown have always wanted to see the proceedings televised for the sake of transparency and accountability.
A long-standing teacher and activist, Ibrahim Bangura too is poised about seeing a televised proceedings of the tripartite committee arguing that it hinges directly on the peace and security of the state.
Based on his observation of the country’s “socio-political reality,” Bangura told this press that the committee’s findings and recommendations would constitute a “make or break” for Sierra Leone.
“The people are ready to take to the streets at any time, but they only wait for April, a month the committee is expected to end its work and make recommendations.
According to Bangura, Sierra Leone will enjoy peace only if the committee is fair to the people, and political gimmicks taken out of the probe.
As he continues the advocacy for the nationwide broadcasting of the tripartite committee, Bangura made reference to the defunct commissions of inquiry whose proceeding were broadcast nationwide so much that the last man in the last village knew about what was going on.
Even when the houses and other estates of politicians were confiscated, he said, the move was aired on radio and shown on national television.
“If the hearings at the commissions of inquiry were broadcast and televised, Why not the work of the tripartite committee which is more important than that of the commissions,” he stressed.
As the debate about the broadcasting and televising of the proceedings of the tripartite committee continues, the rights campaigner also reminded Sierra Leoneans about the allocation of funds to a government communication team to popularise the work of the commissions of inquiry across the country.
“Government information officers toured the length and breadth of Sierra Leone to inform the people about the work of the commissions of inquiry, and the same should be applied to the election probe to keep Sierra Leoneans well-informed about the committee’s work,” Bangura suggested adding that there could be no controversy in the near future once the right information is provided.
A senior APC politician who spoke to this press on condition of anonymity assured Sierra Leoneans that his party, the All People’s Congress (APC) would be advocating the broadcasting or televising of the committee’s proceedings so that every Sierra Leonean can understand all what the committee is doing.
The APC politician who fears either misinformation or disinformation says such work should not be left to the bloggers but credible, conventional media platforms.
The media, he argues should come for the people to take ownership of the process.
Since the EIC started its work, there had been little coverage in its activities even when it became clear that government officials were not ready to cooperate with the committee.
Recently, one of the committee’s co-chairs Dr Kelfala Marrah said in a tweet that government was not ready to cooperate with the committee as they failed to show up on 13th December, 2023, a day the committee was supposed to start its work.
“It is unfortunate; the Cross-Party Committee on Electoral Review didn’t commence work today, 13th December, 2023. We urge Government of Sierra Leone to allow the process to begin,” Dr Marrah twitted as he debunked update given by the Chief Minister, David Moinina Sengeh on the drafting of the terms of reference for the committee.
Chief Minister was also on record to have appealed to APC to bring back the runaway prisoners as a condition for government to take part in the work of the tripartite committee.
However, Sierra Leoneans were taken aback by government’s participation into the committee, but such cooperation could not be divorced from the pressure made to bear on government by the international community.
The US Ambassador, David Bryan Hunt, EU Ambassador, Manuel Muller and the UK High Commissioner, Lisa Chesney played a great role in bringing government to the EIC.
The allocation of $1.5m to the committee by the US is a big boost to the election probe, and the media must be allowed to cover the process for popularisation and proper understanding of the committee’s work.
