In a surprise reaction to the recent rise in the demand for electoral justice from members of the society a bipartisan group of Sierra Leoneans that spoke to this medium has encouraged Dr. Samura Kamara, the main opposition presidential candidate of the 24 June 2023 presidential elections, “to continue to fight for electoral justice,” adding that the fight is much bigger than both political parties.
The future credibility and integrity of our elections and electoral processes not limited to hiring managers of the elections management bodies is under threat if we fail to resolve the political stalemate that continues to affect Sierra Leone two years after the incumbent president was declared the winner of those elections. This is the contention of ranking Sierra Leoneans belonging to both APC and SLPP.
“While the APC have neglected the fight for electoral justice and are all talking about 2028, the fight is however still not over. The fight for electoral justice is bigger than Samura Kamara. As an SLPP member and supporter I am also a democrat that is dedicated to upholding the rule of law over party or personality. What will happen to the SLPP after they end up in the opposition and what happened in 2023 is repeated? How will we complain if the 84 recommendations from the Tripartite Committee are not implemented? If we fail to implement them we will never be able to trust any election result from those in power, which will not be good for our peace and security going forward,” stated an SLPP member of the respondents.
The popular SLPP don said it is disheartening that none of the 84 recommendations of the committee has been implemented, asking further: “How can the APC plan for 2028 when 2023 is still unresolved? Are they sure that 2028 will be a different and much more genuine election process?”
It must be recalled that after the chief returning or chief electoral commissioner Mohamed Konneh announced Julius Maada Bio as the winner of the June 2023 presidential polls, the APC, elections observers from around the world, and some diplomatic agencies rejected the result saying it is lacking among other things in statistical or mathematical consistency. This led to the APC boycotting government, protest actions for which citizens died, an attempted military coup to unseat a regime openly operating on a stolen mandate with impunity, and the call for a dialogue, which resulted into a communiqué that set up the Tripartite Committee aimed at addressing all of our past and present electoral issues with hopes of offsetting their repeat in the future. However, two years after the recommendations were made none has been implemented by the Maada Bio regime.
Adding to the conversation, a lady that described herself as a true Sierra Leonean patriot belonging to the main opposition APC asked: “Therefore what guarantees do the APC have being that they have been out of power for ten years and financially handicapped that 2028 will be different or better? The SLPP have been in power and know what power is. They also know that they have the police, the army and the courts on their side. Do you think that the SLPP is coming into 2028 to lose? Or do the APC think that the people’s anger is enough to ensure that they will win? How did that affect the 2023 results? The SLPP plans to win by any means necessary, even employing 2018 and 2023 tactics. You must understand that if ‘power corrupts’ then absolute power, as it is being enjoyed and employed by the SLPP government and president, corrupts absolutely. Therefore the SLPP should not be expected to enter 2028 to lose.”
Although the APC executives have abandoned the fight or demand for electoral justice, the fact that the party is making plans for their lower level elections in light of what has happened during the SLPP lower level elections not limited to voter intimidation, violence, ballot box stuffing, stealing, among others is a cause for concern.
“If the SLPP intraparty elections have ended up with all kind of rancor, as the SLPP fought each other tooth and nail, what do the APC think is going to happen in 2028? Do you see how embarrassing the internal SLPP elections ended up being with all the corruption in the process? Do you think 2028 will be any different? The fact that they have managed the economy so bad they will want to win 2028 and this is where the need for electoral justice comes up again because without it there is no assurance that 2028 will not be a repeat or continuation of 2023,” the APC member stated.
The APC stalwart has called on members of the APC and SLPP executives to embrace the need for electoral justice to rescue the image and integrity of our electoral processes and the reputation of those declared winners.
“First of all they all should embrace electoral justice. If they are serious about the reputation of our elected officials and our democracy, they will all demand electoral justice. Imagine since 2023 we still don’t know how our votes were counted. Dr. Samura Kamara’s fight for electoral justice is not for himself; he is fighting for all Sierra Leoneans. And he is doing this without the APC executive. The greatest thing is that Dr. Samura has the support of the grassroots, which is more important that the support of the executive,” the APC partisan noted.
Meanwhile, Sierra Leoneans belonging to the APC and SLPP that spoke to this medium on the need for electoral justice have said they believe in Dr. Samura’s fight to restore sanity and respect to the process whereby we hand our sovereignty to those we elect to run our affairs.
“We, the SLPP and APC, both believe in Samura Kamara and the need for electoral justice. He is not fighting his own personal self-interest fight. He is fighting for democracy. Imagine although votes were counted we still don’t know the result. What kind of a democracy where you will have a president ruling without showing how or if he won? If the APC executives are loyal and love Sierra Leone and the APC, they will join Dr. Samura because ‘in the struggle of the APC there is victory’,” the APC stalwart encouraged his members and true democrats in the SLPP.