As Sierra Leone heads for elections in June 24, 2203, APC (All People’s Congress)’s running mate and Opposition Leader in parliament, Honourable Chernor Maju Bah has made a strong call on the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone (ECSL) to ensure a free, fair and credible electoral process in Sierra Leone.
Honourable Bah aka Chericoco is the latest among top dignitaries to urge ECSL to do what is right so that the will of the majority is respected. He believes that with freedom and fairness, APC will surely prevail in the ballot box to kick out of power, a government that has taken the country backwards for five years.
He made the call amid suspicions of rigging by the elections authorities. Intimidation, harassment, terror tactics and militarisation of Freetown ahead of election are tacit rigging tactics. Without freedom, there can be no honest election.
Nothing also works without trust. complaints by many Sierra Leoneans about rigging before voting is rife. The election management bodies have taken to bizzare activities in a run up to the elections. The printing of sub-standard voter ID cards with unidentifiable features is one of the main concerns raised by Sierra Leoneans.
Missing names on voters’ list, and disqualification of first-time voters also adds to the problem. It is not clear whether the election authorities will solve the problems before voting. That notwithstanding, Honourable Bah, few days ago, also urged Sierra Leoneans to collect their voter ID cards to vote out President Julius Maada Bio in the coming elections. ” You will vote and make the change only when you have a voter ID card,” he emphasised.
Apart from the call to collect the cards, Honourable Bah has been sensitising his constituents to vote in Dr Samura Kamara in June 24 to shape the future of Sierra Leone. His appeal to the people of Sierra Leone portrays Honourable Bah as one with an unwavered loyalty to the APC, a party whose honour and prestige he has zealously guarded throughout the years.
As parliamentarian, he has raised APC’s banner to the top most, and has left an indelible mark in the sands of time. Chericoco has proved to be an eminent parliamentarian in the regimes of Ernest Bai Koroma and Bio.
In both regimes, he held key posts that placed him in a class of his own in Sierra Leone’s politics. In the Koroma-led administration, Honourable Bah was Deputy Speaker of Parliament, an office which he used in the country’s best interest. He strengthened accountability especially when he led an investigation into alleged misuse of Ebola funds. He made sure that funds siphoned off were brought back to government coffers. Throughout his public life, his hand has never been caught on the loot. He prefers ploughing to plundering.
He also has to his credit an outstanding record of service delivery to the people of Sierra Leone making him one of APC’s most admirable personalities. Hardwork is always rewarded with promotion and more responsibility. Little wonder that Honourable Bah alongside, Dr Samura Kamara was chosen by former President Bai Koroma in the 2017 convention in Makeni, the Northern capital.
They challenged Bio in the 2018 election.
Honourable Bah and Dr Kamara fought a bull fight to ensure an APC victory, but the scale was tilted in Bio’ favour. The international community needed regime change to protect Sierra Leone from another conflict.As peaceful and law-abiding, Chernor Bah whole-heartedly accepted ECSL’s decision in announcing Bio as the nation’s President. He took no one to court, and no one reimbursed him for his expenses in the elections.
However, Chericoco was not paid back for his patience and restraint. He became object of an SLPP (Sierra Leone People’s Party) petition in the high court of Sierra Leone.
Many thought he would lose his seat as 10 parliamentarians had their seats stripped of them in a day. He came out clean and retained his seat as no adverse finding was made against him.
Although his seat remains intact, Honourable Bah was not at ease since his colleague parliamentarians had been arbitrarily thrown out of parliament. Few days after the court’s decision in April, 2019, Honourable summoned a press conference at the Sierra Leone of Journalists (SLAJ) where he condemned outright the court’s decision to replace the petitioned with the petitioners. Citing relevant portions of the Public Elections Act, he argued that where there is a successful petition, the court must order a re-run.
Owing to the blatant deviation from the law, he pledged to appeal to a superior court, but the appeal must be heard by foreign judges. SLPP would not listen to the call as it was bent to have a parliamentary majority. As a lawyer and respecter of the law, he consoled his colleagues to obey the court in the interest of peace and stability.
In the Bio regime, Chericoco is the opposition leader in parliament, and in such capacity, he has taken government on major issues. He criticised the ruling party for the infamous 2021 Mid-Term Census which was going to be used to create new constituencies countrywide.
At that time, constituencies were already in existence, and any attempt to create new ones amount to gerry-mandering, the beginning of rigging. He maintained his opposition stance in spite of threats and intimidation from the ruling party.
His critical stance towards what many referred to as illegal census prompted criticisms from other sides.
Top APC members including former Local Government Minister, Diana Konomani joined the opposition Leader in outrightly condemning the census. The plethora of critical voices watered down government’s effort in adopting the census result for the delimitation of constituencies.
Chernoh Bah also opposed government’s move to remove political parties from local councils. He was of the firm view that such action was never in the party and country’s interest, but a way of protecting government’s. In the 2018 general elections, SLPP had only six councils to its credit while the main opposition, APC got nine.
It is a shameful and embarrassing situation for government, and the only way out was to do away with the councils. The issue was abandoned as it did not enjoy popular support by the masses. Most of the policies and bills that suffered fatal blows in the pre-legislative stages could not be divorced from the brilliant arguments of Chernor Bah.
Although he opposes, Honourable Bah executes the task brilliantly well. He opposes where he sees fit, and agrees with government on issues that promote growth and development. His tactical approach raised unsubstantiated allegations of collusion with government.
Many ill-informed persons within the APC think that way, but he stands tall as he occupies the second most important office in the party. In June, this year, without any hesitation, he would occupy the country’s second most important office of Vice President. He needs only to submit to the passage of time.