Sierra Leone Telegraph: 05 September 2022:
Sierra Leone’s former President Ernest Bai Koroma today, Monday September 5th, was visited at his residence in Makeni by the European Union ambassador to Sierra Leone, Manuel Muller. The two had lengthy but fruitful discussions on a range of issues, the country’s preparations for general, presidential and local elections slated for June next year.
“I’ve just had a lengthy but fruitful discussion with EU ambassador on issues bordering on democracy, preparations for the June 2023 elections and national cohesion,” said Former President Koroma.
The statesman urged the public to do their part by continuing to be patient in trying to register in a process that is widely reported to be problematic in some parts of the country.
Since the start of the ‘voter registration’ process, there have been widespread reports of significant logistical, technical and human resource inefficiencies in the registration process.
Ambassador Muller and his EU team of observers visited various registration centers, and today twitted about some of the ‘technical challenges’ experienced at some of the centres.
Emphasizing the right of every eligible Sierra Leonean to be registered, former president Koroma urged the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL) to speedily help in addressing the bottlenecks affecting the registration process.
“I urge everyone to be patient, continue to try and register; ECSL to speedily address the recurring challenges hindering the registration process. Every eligible Sierra Leonean should be able to exercise this right,” said the former president.
It never fails to stupefy me that Earnest Koroma never seems to have the nerve to independently make or put out a statement when the country needs it the most, he has to be in the company of some foreign official. The man is just a crude coward. If some regard him as an elder statesman, one of his functions should be to delve into anything which has the makings of disrupting peace and tranquillity in the nation – invited or not. I would not want Earnest to lead me in an operation, he would have me killed instantly while adequately armed because he was afraid to give me clear orders to at least return fire.
The message from the voter registration process is bare, stark naked, for all to see : the current Electoral Commission is filled with SLPP stalwarts whose professionalism and integrity are at best extremely doubtful, they would use every trick to keep Bio in power next year. There can be no other explanation for the technical problems that now seem to pervade the registration process. If indeed the head of the Commission had some brain, he would have plugged into all known simulations before presenting his rotten computers to the public. Can he count up to ten without halting?
There is a melancholic feel to this issue. It is that the once hawkish APC have been reduced to less than a shadow of their former self ,they are not even butterflies anymore. Bio has made it very costly in many ways for them to lift their voice to criticise or express concern. Is it a moment of retributive justice given the party’s history from 1967/68 to April 1992 when Momoh was overthrown ? As APC grieves over this probability, and in disarray, NGC should be given a chance to transform the country for the best. We cannot afford to leave SLPP in power nor bring APC back. The former will completely destroy the country while continuing to divide it. The latter now have empty pockets and stomachs. What should we expect from them if they regain power in 2023?