Pressure is mounting on ECSL (Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone) as voting draws closer. ECSL faces pressure from the main opposition , All People’s Congress (APC), the people of Sierra Leone and the international community. APC and the public are very much suspicious of ECSL tilting the scale in favour of the incumbent party, the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP). Donor partners particularly EU are worried over the use of election donor funds by government.
By its looks, ECSL stands on slippery ground, and it is also between the devil and the deep Blue Sea. Like the courts, it is very difficult for election authorities to kick against the interest of incumbents who appointed them in their offices. Government, a little over a year ago, embarked on a major shake up at ECSL by way of replacement of a vibrant commissioner and a huge increase in the salaries of ECSL staff.
One of the vibrant and competent commissioners, Miatta French was dismissed and replaced with Zainab Moseray despite public condemnation of government’s action. While other government agencies especially the police, teachers, lecturers and health workers were wailing over poor pay, ESCL staff were taking home fat and bump emolument packages to do government’s bidding. The unprecedented rise in salary raised large eye-brows on ECSL’s activities.
The people of Sierra Leone are ready to question every step taken by ECSL in the conduct of the June 24, 2023 election. Who will ECSL please? To whose tune will ECSL dance? Will it dance to the tune of government or the international community? Will it dance to the tune of the people of Sierra Leone? Indeed, ECSL is at a crossroads. The international community (the EU, US, UK, AU ECOWAS etc) are key funders to the electoral process.
The people of Sierra Leone are the possessors of power to which the laws of the state attest.The Constitution of Sierra Leone, 1991says sovereignty belongs to the people of Sierra Leone from whom government through this constitution derives its powers, legitimacy and authority. It is this clause that ensures that government comes down to the people to seek fresh mandate from the people when their term ends. For Sierra Leone, government’s term ends every five years like what has happened with Bio. His term has ended, and he come again to the people to canvass them for votes. This goes a long way to show that real power belongs to the people and not government. However, suspicion of ECSL trying to protect government’s interest remains high.
The suspicion became strong when EU castigated ECSL for failing to implement recommendations of the EU Elections Observer Mission in the 2018 polls. In the press release of October, 2021, EU had it hot with ECSL referring to the elections body as untrustworthy. The description connotes dishonesty on the part of ECSL. In a counter press release, ECSL made it clear that Sierra Leone is a sovereign state and will not bow to the dictate of an ordinary organisation. ECSL sees the EU as ordinary organistation that should not control ECSL.
An irony is visible: ECSL wanted EU funds, but does not want to go by the expectation of a fair and credible election. The need for a honest and transparent electoral process has always been the bone of contention between EU and ECSL. On several occasions, SLPP surrogates have fought proxy wars against the diplomatic community in Sierra Leone. Honourable Emerson Lamina of Coalition for Change party recently attacked the EU Ambassador, Manuel Muller over what he referred to as political interference.
Almost invariably, Dr Sylvia Blyden who has recently thrown her weight behind SLPP also hit the UK High Commissioner very hard. Blyden similarly accused Lisa Chesney of politically interfering with the country’s politics, a move she said went against the Austria convention. These recent occurrences show that ECSL is never at ease within itself. It faces tough time since it appears not ready to do the needful, the main opposition says.
The printing of sub-standard “Foo Foo” and “Yuki Yuki voter ID cards using US$10m raises big cloud of suspicion among the public and the international community. Surely, the ECSL Chief, Mohamed Kenewui Konneh and other senior ECSL staff will have to answer questions about this money when a new government is installed. Public perception about ECSL is negative to the core.
Only few Sierra Leoneans trust them at the moment. Voter ID cards recently released put ECSL’s integrity at stake. When Sierra Leone’s voter ID cards are compared to Liberia’s, one could see a big difference. Liberia’s voter ID cards are much more quality than Sierra Leone’s, a move that raised many questions to which ECSL cannot provide answers.
The election is a complex process even if it is just a single presidential election. But it is more complex if it is a multi-tier one. June 24 election is multi-tier: it consists of presidential, parliamentary, mayoral and chairman/councillor elections. The multiple nature of the elections means much work has to be done so that the voters can go to the polls.
As it stands, a big question mark hangs over the conduct of the elections in June 24, 2023. Many are not certain whether voting will take place on that day as the main opposition, All People’s Congress (APC) says it will not go into elections with ECSL’s voter ID cards. APC has one fear: the fear of rigging before voting. All over the world, elections are not rigged on the voting.
Rigging, according Professor Nick Cheeseman, is a product of a long-term plan by incumbent governments. It includes intimidation, arrest and detention of opposition politicians, narrowing the political space, suppressing freedom of expression, abusing people’s rights and civil liberties, unnecessary proclamation of states of emergencies, creation of a police state, use of widespread terror tactics and an attempt to regulate all aspects of man’s life.
Cheeseman went further to argue that dictators who conduct sham elections in their countries tend to stay much longer in power than those who frown at elections. SLPP government fits into the features highlighted by the erudite Professor. SLPP government started intimidation and harassment of opposition politicians on tl4the April, 2018 which was the day Bio was announced President Bio was announced President of Sierra Leone.
Thugs linked with SLPP quickly metamorphosed into vigilante groups chasing past government of the APC everywhere. Most former government officials died in the process, but the vigilantes justified their actions as a move to recover stolen government assets, a function which should have been better done by the police. Even former President Ernest Bai Koroma’s daughter who is not a government official was targetted.
Many Sierra Leoneans were stunned and shocked by such mob rule that was slowly replacing Sierra Leone’s decent politics. Attention was also turned to how SLPP, a party of intellectuals could condescend to incivility and thuggery. The vigilante’s raid set in motion waves of intimidation, harassment, indiscriminate and illegal arrest that defined Bio’s government. Opposition politicians were arrested, detained for days and released without charges.
Others were placed behind bars based on false charges. Former Defence Minister, Paolo Conteh was one of the victims of illegal incarceration. Ex-Minister of Political and Public Affairs, Karmoh Kabba and others also faced similar situation. Former Minister of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs was also locked up for 21 days in a police cell before arraigned in a magistrate court in Freetown for media related offences.
She spent several months in prison before her freedom was restored. Several incidents of government killings in various parts of the country made SLPP very unpopular in the eyes of the public. Any agency which attempts to protect SLPP’s interest in the election will share the party’s fate. The signs ECSL has seen is a clear warning as coming events cast their shadows.