State of emergency declared by President Julius Maada Bio might be another setback for the Tripartite Committee currently looking into the June 24, 2023 multi-tier elections.
In what appears a move to neutralise the drug threat, President Julius Maada Bio, last Thursday, declared an emergency yet to be taken to parliament for approval.
With 84 SLPP (Sierra Leone People’s Party) parliamentarians, the emergency is sure to be endorsed and rules and regulations to follow in the short-run.
As usual a curfew may form part of the rules so that government can restrict the movement of people in Sierra Leone including the election investigators if occasion calls for it.
PAOPA is unpredictable and if the state of emergency reaches a high peak, the work of the committee members would be affected and every effort taken to square zero.
Other sources say tighter rules and regulations also may be announced by the committee to stifle its work especially when signs are clear that the recommendations will favour APC, a situation the ruling party would not like to see.
No one also knows what the tough measures that may be taken by government in coming days as the election investigation goes on. In spite of government’s assurance about the emergency situation, the public remains pensive about whether ‘Kush’ addicts or traffickers would be targeted.
In an emergency situation, government enjoys sweeping powers; it can suspend the operation of any law, confiscate property, arrest and detain people without trial and such actions, according to the constitution, cannot be questioned by any court.
It is the possession and exercise of unlimited powers by government that the constitution spells out conditions on which a state of emergency can be proclaimed owing to fear of abuse.
Despite the challenging environment, there is somewhat light at the end of the tunnel as election experts will soon start their work.
Members of the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), main opposition, All People’s Congress (APC) and Development Partners are fully represented in the committee creating hope in many Sierra Leoneans, but it may be dashed if the emergency is abused by the PAOPA leaders.
The committee’s main function is look into the June elections and makes recommendations for electoral and democratic reforms in the near future according to a communiqué signed by the two main political parties.
The communiqué was the product of a three-day dialogue between SLPP and APC facilitated by Commonwealth, African Union and the Economic Community Of West African States) to end a three-month post-election stand-off in Sierra Leone.
The communiqué ended an almost three-month boycott of parliament and local councils, and the two parties also agreed that the June polls would be investigated and recommendations made must be “actionable” and “implementable.”
However, the committee’s work may be taken backwards if back-stop measures are not in place in the emergency period.
Following the committee’s launching by President Julius Maada Bio in October last year, its mandate was expected to end in April this year since its life span should not go beyond six months. But, delays, several interruptions and challenges, committee will wrap up its job by June, this year if everything goes as planned.
Since its formation, the committee has been constrained by several factors that have been crippling its work.
Its work was also derailed by attacks in late November at police and military installations a day before the investigation should have commenced.
Heavy gun fire was heard in almost every part of the city with no one venturing the streets except armed men, and talk of a Tripartite Committee was heard nowhere.
It took months before local and international pressure mounted again on President Bio and his government in respect of the investigation.
A little over a week after the gun attacks, US Ambassador to Sierra Leone, David Hunt drew government’s attention to the communiqué which gave birth to the Tripartite Committee, and dissuaded SLPP politicians from dodging the probe.
“Government should not walk away from the Tripartite Committee although a coup investigation is going on as the two situations are different,” Ambassador Hunt recently cautioned government stressing that the coup investigation is different from that of the probe.
He however urged government to hold suspected coupists accountable for their individual action as he believes that Sierra Leone does not take part in collective punishments.
Mr Hunt’s call for government to keep the Tripartite Committee alive was bolstered by a $1.5m grant offered by the United States.
Owing to the financial boost, the terms of reference document was endorsed about two months back, but feet keep dragging.
The donation came after the Security Council, the highest and most important organ of the UN, urged Sierra Leone government to comply with the terms of the communiqué by cooperating with the investigators. For the international community, the community is a document for real peace and national cohesion.
The UN body fears that peace in Sierra Leone will be jeopardised if the truth about the polls remain hidden. It must be unraveled and power held to account.
The UN’s call was also re-echoed by the West African bloc, ECOWAS urging government to support the tripartite committee to accomplish its work.
Of all recent appeals for compliance with the tripartite committee, ECOWAS’s call stunned and shocked President Bio who expected a back up by the sub-regional bloc.
Knowing fully well that the election results were under hot contest, Bio had been attending ECOWAS meetings and conferences, a move that showcases him as a genuine President. Such moves also instilled hope in President Bio that the political impasse would solve for itself without intervention from the international community.
His hope was dashed by the dismissal of one-time ECOWAS Commission President, Mohamed Ibn Chambers who, many said, had close links with the Sierra Leonean government. Chambers was also recently embroiled in corruption scandals which resulted to his removal.
Earlier, British High Commissioner to Sierra Leone, Lisa Chesney also took similar stance by urging government to support the Tripartite Committee and comply with the election probe.
Chesney also repeated the call during a visit by APC’s top executive officials.
Challenges confronting the investigative body today were foreseen first by Dr Kaifala Marrah, APC’s representative and co-chair at the Tripartite Committee.
The seasoned politician and one-time Foreign Affairs Minister, recently doubted about the committee catching up with the June deadline. His doubt might not be unconnected to a hardline government’s stance of ‘no rerun election’ until 2028.
Information Minister, Chernor Bah and other government officials said there would be no other election until Bio completes his five-year term.
Matters were made worse when SLPP fanatics peddled with the scary information about Bio’s intention to hold on to power for a life-time in a democratic order.
Interfering with the constitution to extend the five-year term limits to seven years, and even to make it limitless was also popularised by staunch SLPP members.
These new versions of argument from SLPP politicians came a day after the October communiqué was signed. However, the ‘no rerun’ debate also came up at the launching of the terms of reference at New Brookfields Hotel in Freetown with each side taking his own side.
When confronted with the question of whether there would be a rerun election, Presidential Adviser, Dr Emmanuel Gaima was blunt in his response that there would be no other election till 2028, a response that APC members and supporters were less comfortable with.
The June polls, he said, were done and dusted and that Sierra Leone must look forward to fresh election. But, the APC representative, Dr Kaifala Marrah did not agree with Dr Gaima over his radical stance of no rerun election.
Dr Marrah had told journalists that the committee would recommend a rerun of the election if significant electoral irregularities were detected during the probe.
The acrimony on another election still lingers and questions about what made SLPP government sign the peace deal with the APC also roll in.
The questions remains unanswered, but experienced opposition politicians have intimated this press that the hope for recognition and donor support took government to the negotiation table. President Julius Maada Bio had eyed the $500m MCC (Millenium Challenge Corporation) compact, a gift to countries that passes democratic and good governance benchmarks identified by the United States.
When the deal became true, government officials were annoyed with the international community as there would be no recognition and funds until the election results were looked into.
Since PAOPA government officials still hold the reins of state command, they could embark on a number of actions to undermine the committee to avoid a one-term phenomenon.
But, and the ‘but’ part of it, the prospect of success remains slim as long as the international community keeps a watchful eye on Sierra Leone particularly the election probe.