The Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) has disclosed to the International and local press massive plans by the All People’s Congress (APC) Government to rig the March 7th, 2018 polls.
According to the SLPP Campaign Chairman, Dr. Alie Kabbah, their party had discovered four main ways the APC Government wants to rig the election and, according to them, firstly, the APC is using fake RRF1 forms to tally the results at the regional tally centers. Piles of RRF1 forms were left at the polling centres by NEC officials, Mr. Kabbah went on.
The SLPP Campaign Chairman also stated that NEC tally machines have been pre-programmed to reject the data entered into the system.
“This has been hacked by APC operatives,” Mr. Alie Kabba claimed. He also highlighted that they have discovered some instances of over voting and that NEC machines are producing wrong data, in this case black, instead of blue stickers.
The party has also asked the Commission to investigate Commissioner Miata French who, according to them, has been accused of intimidating junior staff of the Commission who present genuine concerns around the tallying process.
“NEC has not produced progressive results according to what was agreed and they encouraged them to start doing so with immediate effect,” Alie Kabba stated.
The Campaign Chairman concluded by asking the leadership and donors of the Independent Radio Network (IRN) to encourage them to open up the space to their party to respond to what he referred to as APC propaganda. He complained that the IRN has been starving them of this opportunity and has given undue advantage to the APC.
Ransford Wright, National Coordinator of IRN, has, in a press release, informed members of the public that the claims by the SLPP are not only baseless and deceitful but a calculated ploy to tarnish the esteemed reputation of IRN, which, according to him, IRN has built over the years on solid institutional achievements.
“The management of IRN hereby requests the SLPP to produce concrete evidence to substantiate such claims. Otherwise, we demand an immediate apology and retraction from the leadership of the party,” the release concluded.
Miatta French, NEC Commissioner Western Area, has dismissed the SLPP claims and also threatened to take court action against the party on allegations pointed to her person, that NEC is using fake RRF1 forms at the tally center.
She accepted that there were some problems with the forms at the center, but they have been put aside and some investigation is being done around them.