The World watches at President Julius Maada Bio as he forcefully grips power. Bio allegedly stole June 24, 2023 elections, an act for which he had shown no remorse. Soft power and not hard power is at play in the country’s politics.
In the exercise of soft power, the donors will not offer aid and other humanitarian services to deviant countries to make them comply with the democratic demands. Hard power is the use of military might to force leaders to respond to the aspirations of the international community. For Sierra Leone’s situation, the international community is exercising soft power as they cut off cooperation with government until credible election results are produced.
Financial resources and other forms of assistance for Sierra Leone have been held back at the moment until government complies with the demands of democrats. The country is still at a standstill as life does not move in the way it should. Freetown is sad and so are other towns.
The euphoria and fanfare usually seen in immediate post election periods is virtually absent in the country. Melancholy and weariness is also written on faces of Sierra Leoneans figuring out what will happen in the next hour.
Business is moving slow and the country is on a go-slow with threats of protests at every sector of governance. The ECSL (Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone) have threatened to burn down government buildings as signs of getting their wages are non-existent. At the moment, ECSL officials scratch their heads as they look for solutions.
University lecturers too have threatened to protest against poor conditions of work. Danger looms on the horizon as government delays to pay the irate workers. This is the first time government is finding it difficult to pay ECSL ad hoc staff after elections as donor partners have withheld funds.
The disappointed workers have caused sleepless nights for ECSL staff if they do not get the reward of their honest toil. Video footages on how ECSL officials are being humiliated have gone viral on media platforms. One of them was pelted with stones and other missiles as he took shelter somewhere else. “No money no peace,” some of the irate youth threatened.
Foreign Investors too are pulling out of the country as the stalemate lingers. They are wary and worried about where the stand off would end if it continues. They are hesitant to pour in their resources in a country where opposition and ruling parties do not see eye-to-eye.
Potential investors too have been scared away by the political stand off. Companies are not forthcoming and those operating now are contemplating pulling out of the country. Arise Company which was about to invest in Koya Chiefdom in PortLoko district has held back it’s resources although the investment plan has been launched. The company will have commenced operations by now if everything had gone well, but all is not well at the moment.
The stand off is also affecting other sectors of the economy with the transport and aviation sector being the worst-hit. Most drivers and riders have parked their vehicles and tricycles owing to the sky-rocketing price of fuel. Several flights have cancelled their operations to Sierra Leone with others being on the queue to follow suit.
It is reported that Air France have stopped flying in, and Air Brussels will soon stop its arrivals to Sierra Leone. Some commercial airplanes have chosen to land in Guinea and not here. If the situation is not handled, it will reach a point where Sierra Leoneans will have to go to Guinea for oversea travels, a situation that creates a big blow to the economy.
It happened during the war and in the immediate post-war period where Sierra Leoneans had cause to travel to Guinea to access airflight services. It is not war this time, but an election stand off that has put the country off track. A country embroiled in  an Electoral imbroglio is not peaceful although some can see peace at the outside.
Going by the recently published results, opposition leader, Dr Samura Kamara defeated incumbent President Julius Maada Bio in a wide margin. Kamara got 57 percent while Bio scored 43 percent but the latter still occupies Office of the President exercising what many call a “stolen mandate.”
Close to two months after Bio allegedly forced his way to the Presidency, he has been appointing cabinet ministers and other heads of agencies to assist him run an “illegal government.”
Former ministers who have a clue of what is to come in the future have backed out. Former Minister of Higher and Technical Education, Professor Alpha Tejan Wurie, Labour, Employment and Social Security Minister, Alpha Timbo, Foreign Affairs Minister, Professor David Francis and other ministers have gone as they hold doubts about the legality of the current government. Senior State House officials who made up of the President’s advisory team had departed as they too held similar apprehensions.
The departure of these highly placed officials have not Shaken Bio’s penchant for the presidency. Calls for Bio to step down or hold a re-run have fallen on deaf ears, and he also drags his feet in setting up an investigation committee to look into alleged election irregularities.
It is safe to say that Bio, by all indications, does not win the elections, but he is not willing to give up power, and the world is sure to turn against him to ensure that he complies with democratic standards. When the US Ambassador, David Reimer was explaining about Sierra Leone’s post election stalemate, he made it clear that not only the United States that saw the election rigging but also the world at large.
The election rigging was particularly glaring as was done in broad daylight. Today’s world is a democratic world and will not tolerate despots or autocrats to rule particularly despots who hold sham elections to legitimise their hold on power.
It is quite a big tragedy for Sierra Leone when the world moves against her especially in a globalised and networked economy. As one of the weakest sovereign states in the community of nations, Sierra Leone cannot function alone as a viable state as she needs the support and cooperation of other countries and inter-governmental agencies.
Sierra Leone is a member of the United Nations, ECOWAS (Economic Community Of West African States), Commonwealth, African Union and Mano River Union among others. These agencies have given a cold shoulder to Sierra Leone as the country failed to conduct free and fair elections.
In mid July, this year, Sierra Leone parliament was bashed at by several international organisations when a letter was addressed to them by Sierra Leone’s Clerk of Parliament, Umar Paran Tarawallie. ECOWAS, Commonwealth, EU and AU parliaments did not recognise Sierra Leone’s parliament since government is not considered as one that is legitimate.
US and UK and other countries in the world have no dealings with Bio who they see unfit to occupy the presidential office owing to what the international community called “rigged elections.”
Now, the world is moving against Bio, but he is not moved and holds no clue about what the world holds for him.