There is a tug of war going on for Saturday’s general elections when the people across the country will vote for their ward, district, council, and presidential candidates in what is being hoped will be a peaceful, free, fair and credible election cycle in Sierra Leone.
The thirst for power has reached fever pitch and has pitted neighbours and former friends and some family members against each other. Lives and properties have been reportedly lost in the city and across the country. There is widespread report of people being singled out for either party sponsored violence and or being locked up to await trial. Such trials are not being expected to be heard before Election Day.
While such scenarios have come to define our elections periods in Sierra Leone, the people are suing for a new day, a new way of thinking. If the election is a battle of ideas we now want politicians to battle to impress us with their plans and ideas. It is our hope that their thirst for state power should be accompanied by a hunger to develop the country and make life comfortable for the people.
Since we started having elections in this country the focus of the race has always been on the rivalry between two single tribal hegemonies of the northwest and southeast of Sierra Leone. The fight is full of ironies because the APC and SLPP were started in the southeast (now the SLPP stronghold) and northwest (now the APC stronghold) respectively.
Our elections cycles have always resulted in unnecessary deaths and destruction of properties and disruptions of lives. This senseless bloodbaths and the stealing of ballots, denying other candidates and parties and their supporters in your areas to host their choices of parties and candidates have come to overshadow the battle of ideas and the showing and proving on how critical developmental and social issues have been or are going to be solved. All we hear and see are such reports with people routinely being denied to campaign and cast their ballots in opposition strongholds.
Instead of battling on trying to impress us with their ideas all we see are people and their homes and properties being systematically destroyed in a senseless orgy of violence. The fight at present should be on ensuring continuity in government going forward where successive governments will compete at improving the condition of the people and society. It is the time for parties to seek re-election because after we have done our report cards on how they have performed we will know if they are indeed worthy of re-election.
It should inform us then that any party that is seeking re-election by denying other parties access to their regions is denying the people in that area from being informed on how the other candidates hope to do things.
The time has come for us to ask these contending parties and their candidates who are they really fighting for? In whose interest are they so hungry for power? For the incumbent have they done what they promised? Is the opposition candidate convincing you that he can fix the country’s pressing problems? These are some of the kinds of questions to which we were hoping to hear solutions and ideas on solving from all political parties and their candidates as they freely campaign across the nation.
The people of Sierra Leone are desirous of change. They say things have not worked out for us with our current way of doing things but more especially so our mentality. We have to start demanding more from our leaders on how to improve on our lives and develop our nation.
The tussle that is going on across the country should take into consideration if it is for the interest of the political parties and their candidates or for the people of Sierra Leone. If you as a voter cannot tell me one line or policy statement on how your candidate or party plans on sorting things out, say, on youth unemployment and drug abuse, and the like then you have not been educated by that party or candidate.
The tug of war for our votes must be accomplished by concrete plans and ideas of how these people plan on addressing the bread and butter issues: the prices of goods and services, the foreign exchange rate between the leone and US dollar, handling of state money by people such monies are entrusted to, liberalisation of the civil and foreign services staffed by trained and qualified Sierra Leoneans from all tribes, parties and regions.
For the 24 June elections going forward we want governments of continuity that will have a set of objectives the nation hope they would solve before embarking on their own plans. Failing to address such issues will form the basis for your re-election or exit from the public service. This is time for the people of Sierra Leone to unite and decide for the betterment of the country who the right choice of candidate should be for a particular position, not the parties deciding on who we should vote for without hearing a word from them, or after having experienced their style of leadership.