The nation of Sierra Leone is set to go to the polls on 24 June this year. It has been finalised that we are expecting round 2 of the 2018 elections, which results many in the opposition All People’s Congress (APC) say was stolen by the winning Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) team of Julius Maada Bio and Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh.
The incumbent duo will again be going up against Samura Kamara and Chernor Maju Bah of the APC. This election is highly anticipated and expected to once and for all settle the question of who really won the 2018 presidential elections. It must be noted that despite their issues with the elections result in 2018, Dr Samura Kamara and Chernor Maju Bah called and congratulated the victors. Their calls saved the nation from what would have happened had they questioned and outright refused to accept the results.
The question now remains; will the vanquished call the victors of the 24 June 2023 elections?
If anyone in the ruling party government cares to speak the truth, all their surveys sounding the will of the electorate must have pointed to one thing, the SLPP’s eventual exit of State House. There is an expectation then that the SLPP will lose. But what if they don’t? Not many people are willing to entertain the thought or possibility of a further five years under the SLPP going by how things have materialised these past five years. But if they win, will Dr Samura Kamara and Hon Chericoco be big enough to accept the result and call and congratulate the victors?
The people of Sierra Leone should not be naïve to think that after tasting the power, prestige and other benefits of being president that Julius Maada Bio will just hand over power without putting up a sound fight. Saying it won’t happen is not a guaranty, as only the numbers will decide on who triumphs on 24 June. Therefore, if it turns out that the ruling SLPP loses the elections, will President Bio sign the election results and call and congratulate the APC?
It is a common practice across the world for the vanquished to call the victors after all have been accepted after the polls have been counted. But with President Bio routinely quoted as saying that he will not hand over power to the APC, what if he loses on 24 June? What assurances do we have that President Bio took US President Joe Biden’s and the ECOWAS’s advice to heart? Was he just paying them lip service? We will only know the answers after he would have signed the elections results before the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone (ECSL) announces said results.
The people of Sierra Leone must be reminded again that the international community that funds most of our government’s programmes and plans don’t deal with ministers; they deal directly with the president and the head of the electoral commission. After the vote count is tallied the ECSL boss signs the document. He or she then calls the president to do likewise. After his or her signature accepting the elections results, the results are announced and the vanquished are expected to call the victors in an effort to say that the results are free, fair and credible. The winners form the next government of Sierra Leone, and all are expected to rally behind them regardless of party, regional or any other affiliation.
It has been told to this medium that President Ernest Bai Koroma signed and accepted the elections results of 2018. But for the 2023 elections the expectation is that if the SLPP regime loses, by signing and accepting the results President Bio will be sending a message to their supporters, especially those that would feel aggrieved, to accept the results as well and return to camp. Peace has been assured as we now have a new government. After vote counting and a victor decided, all that is left to do is for the entire nation to rally behind the winner as our elected leader. We are expected to be on nation building after election results are announced, which requires all hands on deck.
For State House 2023, who will win, and will the vanquished call the victors? We hope that both parties are prepared to do the needful, all in the hope of saving the nation from what would be if the election results are not accepted. To the polls…and the vanquished calling the victors!