President Koroma
As we approach the March 7th, 2018 polls a very senior All People’s Congress (APC) stalwart has informed this medium that President Koroma is campaigning for the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) through several actions and decisions he has taken and continues to take.
According to the source, “President Koroma encouraged over twenty eight (28) high caliber individuals, within the party, to contest for the flagbearer seat in one of the most fiercely contested elections in the history of political parties. He ended up selecting a candidate that the party is still struggling to sell, leaving out very known and popular figures who could have easily won the election for the party in the first ballot. This is a calculated ploy by the President to cost us the elections in favour of the opposition”.
The source went further to state that this was what the late President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah did to the SLPP by choosing Solomon Ekuma Berewa and Momodu Koroma against a very popular Charles Margai who ended up forming the People’s Movement for Democratic Change (PMDC) that later rocked the SLPP.
The insider source, who is very much worried about this state of affairs, explained that since the end of the APC convention in Makeni, the lifetime Chairman and Leader for the party continues to take actions that either hurt party members and supporters or Presidential candidates of other political parties. These political parties could be of help in forming a coalition should in case there is a run- off.
In fact, a run-off is very likely, judging from the number of political parties and their infiltration into the strongholds of the traditional parties.
The recent introduction of the dual citizen’s law that prevented a number of Diasporans from contesting parliamentary seats after having spent millions of Leones was a case in point. The late introduction of this law and the objection to the candidacy of Dr. Kandeh Yumkella, a matter that is currently at the Supreme Court; the unlawful accusation of possession of firearms by Alliance Democratic Party’s (ADP,s) Mohamed Kamarainba; removal of the constitutionally elected Vice President, Chief Alhaji Sam-Sumana, and the recent arrest of Musa Tarawallie are all actions that might not favour the APC in the coming elections, the source concluded.
He has not made a single move to mend fences with any of these Presidential candidates who are very critical to the survival of the party should we have a second round in the March elections.
There is a very popular belief among some sections of the Sierra Leonean populace that due to the nature of our polity, which gives way to ‘the winner takes all syndrome’, coupled up with the huge tribal, regional and colour considerations surrounding our politics, the international community has always been supportive of regime change during transitional elections. According to this school of thought, this is very necessary and expedient for peace, stability and development, and the role of the incumbent President is normally very much required in exchange for a number of goodies and commendations during his later days in retirement.
In neighboring Liberia, quite recently, we saw the huge support George Weah received from the incumbent, Helen Johnson Sirleaf. This support even led to her being driven from her party weeks after Weah won the elections. The party members cited allegations that she did not support her Vice President and the party’s candidate for the elections.
Other indications of an APC drop from the race to State House were written on the wall at the Bintumani Hotel on February 15th 2018. Before the debate proper, the body language of Chief Samuel Sam Sumana was indicative of total dislike for the APC. Sam Sumana was more comfortable in hugging the other four political parties’ presidential candidates. He barely had time to shake Dr Samura’s hand. Did he not just give a ‘slap’ of the hand? That is indicative of the fact that Chief Alhaji Sam Sumana has an axe to grind with the APC.
During the debate, it was explicit that all the other five presidential candidates ganged up in their attacks leveled at the APC and presidential candidate.
Going by all these troubling activities and episodes, it would appear the APC has got a lot of fighting to do at the ballot box should it have any remote chance of subduing its apparent adversaries.