By Musa Paul Feika
Dr. Kelfala Marrah Senior politician in the main opposition, All People’s Congress (APC), Dr Kelfala Marrah has urged the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) to respect Resolution-4 of the communiqué signed in October, last year.
Dr. Marrah who is representing APC at the Election Investigation Committee (EIC) made the appeal during Tuesday’s press briefing held at Brookfields Hotel in Freetown.
The resolution borders on the release of political prisoners, discontinuation of politically motivated cases and resettlement of those driven from their communities by political violence.
Since the signing of the communiqué, he says, SLPP has done nothing to do their own part while APC has complied with the provisions.
He also called on government especially the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL) to cooperate with the tripartite committee for work to start and end within the stipulated time frame.
The committee has an important mandate of looking into the June 24, 2023 elections and make recommendations to government, and work should be completed within six months starting from October last year. He assured Sierra Leoneans that the committee would stand for the truth and they must exercise patience and restraint.
The ruling party, he said, should have implemented some of the recommendations long ago to speed up the entire process, and APC would work with the government and development partners to ensure that the resolutions were fully implemented.
Speaking for the government, Dr. Emmanuel Gaima, highlighted the importance of national peace and unity and assured President Bio’s commitment to addressing key resolutions as stated in the agreement.
Dr Gaima also disclosed that the agreement for national unity has eight resolutions, but EIC was concerned with only Resolution-3 bordering on the review of controversial issues surrounding the June 24, 2023 polls and previous elections.
But, the government representative was blunt to say that there would be no rerun.
“For now, we are only doing a review since we don’t have the mandate to request a re-run election,” Dr. Gaima cleared the air.
Dr. Gaima also reaffirmed the importance of addressing electoral concerns and government’s commitment to upholding democratic values that fostered national peace and unity.