By Ralph Sesay
We want to commit the leadership of the National Electoral Commission as we head the Presidential runoff elections on March, 27th, 2018.
It has been a very turbulent period for them amidst widespread criticisms on the conduct of the polls. Some of these concerns are genuine, while some have been merely designed by their detractors.
One must also agree that they have been able to at least look at some of the concerns raised by political parties and other stakeholders. At some point, they have also cooperated with the Police to investigate and charge to court some of their staff who had fallen foul of the law. This is merely to show that what these NEC officials did was not representative of the vision and aspirations of management.
What is very certain is that the International Observers, including the European Union Observer Mission, the Commonwealth Observation Mission for the 2018 and the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa, headed by very senior retired politicians in Africa and Europe, have commended the peaceful and fair conduct of the polls.
Their preliminary reports have also referred to the process as highly inclusive with women, youths and vulnerable groups participating as voters, election officials and local observers. Their endorsement of the polls, according to them, was preliminary and does not include the tallying and subsequent announcement of the final results.
We have also seen a very senior citizen who has also been associated with the ruling party taking the Commission to court, seeking an injunction to stop the runoff. According to the plaintiff, the injunction also asked the court orders NEC to conduct a forensic audit of the processes and procedures of the Commission and undertake a national recount of all votes cast in the multitier elections, amongst others.
This is a difficult period for the Commission, considering the time and resources the country has spent on the process. We must pray for the leadership to remain neutral and steadfast. We ask the Almighty God to guide the entire leadership while they discharge this very difficult task. Nothing is impossible in the sight of God, and it is our hope that they would be able to surmount this very difficult task and sail the country through.
The National Returning Officer of the Commission should remain above every external influence and ask the Almighty God to guide him through. It is better to trust and lean on the Lord than to protect and secure any politician for their selfish and worldly desires.
The prayers and fasting of very imminent Christian and Muslim personalities, in the country, ahead of the March polls, would not go in vain. God would see this nation through. Sierra Leone would overcome and shine once again just as we did for the war, the Ebola and the mudslide. This is the time to show our collective resolve as Sierra Leoneans; that we can live together and show the World that ‘never again can we use war as a means of settling our indifferences as a people.’