Sylvanus Koroma: 18 July 2023:
It is now over three weeks since the June 24 Elections ended in Sierra Leone and even with the heavy demand from contestants and very key observers (including the International Community) for the publication of the disaggregated results by the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone (ECSL), the ECSL has failed to produce the results.
What the ECSL did was to announce a controversial Presidential winner and whose results have already been publicly opposed as unacceptable with very clearly stated reasons for challenging the initial 60% percent results announced and that unacceptance continued even when a so called 100% of the same was announced.
The ECSL later announced the District Block Proportional Representation System results of seats won in Parliament by contestants, and much later announced Mayoral and Chairpersons results followed by Councillors for the Local Councils without showing how it arrived at such conclusion for the contestants and the public to verify the authenticity and correctness of such announcement.
Many Sierra Leoneans and if not most Sierra Leoneans are now questioning the credibility of the results announced by ECSL Commissioner Konneh. The public perception about the June 24 Elections results is that the results are not credible and that they are just cooked up data based on the figment of imagination of the ECSL boss.
And that the over three weeks delay to produce the ‘disaggregated results’ polling station by polling station countrywide by ECSL, explains a lot to the public that the announced results were fictitious, and if subjected to verification, it will further expose the incompetence of the ECSL.
Instead of the ECSL to respond to the popular demands of the contestants and the public at large (including the International Community) for the disaggregated results to be published i.e., polling station by polling station nationwide, the SLPP hierarchy in cohort with ECSL are requesting the leading challenger the All Peoples Congress (APC) to first showcase its Results Reconciliation Forms (RRF).
This is how callous and ineffective the ECSL has been so far! And no doubt, the European Union for instance had reported about the biasness and unreliability of the ECSL and other pertinent Sierra Leonean institutions in terms of fairly and independently delivering its/their functions to the people of Sierra Leone and Sierra Leoneans in particular.
What is now happening in terms of the ECSL failing to produce the disaggregated results is a manifestation of gross incompetence of this institution. And such incompetence can lead this country to another war as advised by the current National Leader of the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) Mr. Julius Maada Bio.
The SLPP National Leader Mr. Julius Maada Bio said and warned NEC (now ECSL) that he will resist and will not accept any rigged elections. He said that for him to accept elections results, such results must by every standard be clean! He in fact emphatically warned against rigged elections wherein he said that RIGGED ELECTIONS WILL LEAD TO WAR.
What Mr. Julius Maada Bio said then was validated to be true. And that truth is a concern to date. Therefore, it behoves all well-meaning Sierra Leoneans to face the facts and amicably advocate for the right thing to be done now before situation degenerates beyond our control. And this means that if it requires us as Sierra Leoneans to talk the hard facts to Mr. Julius Maada Bio for example, and or any other pertinent person(s), we should do it without fear or favour and put Sierra Leone first.
Before Mr. Julius Maada Bio became President of the Republic of Sierra Leone on Wednesday 4th April 2018, he was certainly not the Commander-In-Chief the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces but was at liberty to speak up on elections issue leading to the 2018 elections. And on assumption to the office as Commander-In-Chief, it was certain, and he was certainly not going to continue in that position forever.
And even though the SLPP certificated but uneducated National Chairman Dr Prince Harding publicly said that they will never hand over power to the ‘APC’, the APC whom he described as mad people when he was addressing a section of the International Community Observers (specifically EU Observer Mission) whom he also described as intellectual dwarfs in front of a camera talking to his SLPP National Leader Mr. Julius Maada Bio who smiled and again acknowledged all these derogatory and hate speech by the certificated and not educated SLPP Chairman as the Leader did not stop him nor condemn the aforesaid Chairman’s rhetoric.
The SLPP leadership will point fingers at the opponents for failing to condemn hate and derogatory speech but will smile to the applauds of its own hate and derogatory speeches. What a hypocrisy at its height. But what is important to note here is that both the National Leader and National Chairman of the SLPP are not gods.
It is only God will say that He will never allow power to be handed over to the APC and it happens thus. The APC had been overthrown by the National Provisional Ruling Council (including the current SLPP National Leader as one of the coupists lieutenants from the Tiger Battalion on Wednesday April 29th 1992), but the APC came back to power and many more Sierra Leoneans are still looking forward to the One Nation APC style of governance as oppose to the notorious one-tribe dominance governance style.
Sierra Leoneans want peace, and Sierra Leoneans equally know that peace without justice is a sham. Therefore, mediators who are advocating for peace must go back to the drawing board to ensure that JUSTICE is brought first in the advocacy for peace to reign.
Mr. Julius Maada Bio has already warned against elections rigging and what was/is good for him should not be taken in isolation to mean that such was reserved just for him and the SLPP alone. And ignoring JUSTICE in our elections is a recipe for trouble.
Sierra Leoneans can be very peaceful but not when someone takes them for granted as the boastful certificated but uneducated National Chairman of the SLPP Dr Prince Harding reported to his Party Leadership.
It is a fact that Mr. Julius Maada Bio has been on record pointing fingers at the APC especially former President Ernest Bai Koroma stating that the former President is not denouncing hate speeches. But it is now clear to many that the SLPP National Leader Mr. Julius Maada Bio enjoys talking what he does not actually do, and or he pretends that people do not see through his actions.
The notorious Austin Johnny has been all over the place ranting hate messages and the National Leader of the SLPP turns blind eye and deaf ears to things done and said by members of the SLPP because maybe he considers them as better or the privileged Sierra Leoneans over non-SLPP Sierra Leoneans.
And this kind of action by Mr Julius Maada Bio confirms and is in sync with his wife’s infamous public forum statement that IT IS ONLY PEOPLE WHO ARE SLPP THAT ARE TRUE SIERRA LEONEANS AS SHE SPEAKS.
Has the National Leader of SLPP Mr. Julius Maada Bio told his wife that her statement in which she said that the SLPP that are the only true Sierra Leoneans is offensive to non-SLPP Sierra Leoneans to date?
And Mr. Julius Maada Bio must also publicly denounce the reckless statements of his Party’s National Chairman amongst the many other hate rhetoric statements of some of his Party membership.
Going forward, well-meaning Sierra Leoneans should now launch an investigation and as well campaign against what can be described as policy statements of the SLPP National Chairman Dr Prince Harding (and in the presence of the SLPP National Leader Mr. Julius Maada Bio including a cross section of the SLPP membership) in which he stated/implied that elections are irrelevant in Sierra Leone because the SLPP will never hand over power to the APC.
The certificated but not educated SLPP National Chairman Dr Prince Harding’s statement if allowed to go unchecked would open a floodgate for electoral coups and cheating of elections which will eventually lead to another war in Sierra Leone as it was rightfully suggested by the current National Chairman of the SLPP Mr Julius Maada Bio leading to the 2018 elections.
In a nutshell, to avoid all ill-happenings in Sierra Leone, it is the popular view by most Sierra Leoneans that the June 24 Elections should be annulled and cancelled for fresh elections.
The fact that the ECSL has been unable to produce the ‘disaggregated results’ of the aforesaid elections polling stations by polling stations that should be verified by contestants or their representatives and observers; and as well ensure that the verified votes meet the 300 voters criteria per polling station, and the failure to have this long without providing the said disaggregated results is enough evidence of the incompetence of ECSL in handling the elections.
The ineptitude of the ECSL leadership in handling the June 24, 2023, election is a recipe for the current impasse in Sierra Leone. And the denial of this fact will be catastrophic for Sierra Leone’s growth.
Sierra Leone is for all Sierra Leoneans, and Sierra Leoneans rights and votes must be respected! It is not for a certificated and uneducated SLPP National Chairman in the person of Dr Prince Harding to determine who should hold power, that right to determine who holds power is in the ballot box. And going forward Sierra Leoneans are very determined to resist any attempt of an electoral coup.
On that note, Sierra Leoneans are very much thankful and grateful for the leadership displayed last week and this week by compatriots in the diaspora especially in the United States of America and United Kingdom by kick starting the protests to Save Democracy in Sierra Leone.
It is the hope that such protests will continue until the June 24 elections are nullified as the ECSL cannot produce the disaggregated results that meets the threshold for acceptability to move this country from its impasse.
Finally, the certified but uneducated SLPP National Chairman Dr Prince Harding must withdraw his hate and derogatory speech on the video that has gone viral and apologize not only to the nation/Sierra Leoneans but the International Community.
Go back to what facts, Mr Alieu? Will seeking redress for electoral fraud through Sierra Leone’s judicial system not be a complete waste of time and resources? Is it not clear to all that as currently constituted that system is invariably at the beck and call of Bio and his Paopa regime? And will seeking such redress through the ECOWAS Court of Justice not equally be a pointless exercise? Like its parent body, that court may well be a toothless bulldog that barks but does not bite when dealing with rogue leaders and their regimes in the subregion. And the proof? Well, look no further than the way ECOWAS has failed to deal with the military coupists that are in power at present in Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea. Lastly, is Bio’s main political rival not in court owing most probably to the barefaced machinations of the Paopa Anti-Corruption Commission committed body and soul to smoothen the path to a second term presidency for its paymaster? So, Mr Alieu, please give us a break with your fictions dressed up as facts.
By the way, I did read Mr Sorie’s comment in full. I have not seen anything wrong with what he has said. That does not mean that I always side with him. Indeed, he and I did agree to disagree at one point. There is evidence in the archives of this news outlet of my engaging him once in a vigorous, disputatious and yet civil conversation.
And let me say and reiterate: unlike you, who are evidently an SLPP Party die-hard supporter, I am no militant of any party whatsoever. My interventions are strictly non-partisan and have always been so since I began posting comments here two years ago. In short, condemning your party and its leader for the electoral fraud they have committed does not make me a militant of the APC Party. Rest assured that I would not hesitate to take that party to task were it the one I consider culpable for the political tension and paralysis besetting our country at present.
Back to what facts, Mr Alieu? Is seeking redress for electoral fraud through Sierra Leone’s judicial system not a complete waste of time and resources? Is it not clear to all that as currently constituted that system is invariably at the beck and call of Bio and his Paopa regime? And is seeking such redress through the ECOWAS Court of Justice not equally a pointless exercise? Like its parent body, is that court not a toothless bulldog that barks but does not bite when dealing with rogue leaders and their regimes in the subregion? And the proof? Look no further than the military coupists that are in power at present in Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea. Lastly, is Bio’s main political rival not in court owing to the barefaced machinations of the Paopa Anti-Corruption Commission committed body and soul to smoothen the path to a second term presidency for its paymaster?
Mr Alieu, please give us a break with your fictions couched as facts.
By the way, I did read Mr Sorie’s comment in full. I have not seen anything wrong with what he has said. That does not mean that I always side with him. Indeed, he and I sometimes agree to disagree. There is evidence in the archives of this news outlet of my engaging him in vigorous, disputatious and yet civil conversations.
And let me say and reiterate: unlike you, who are an SLPP Party die-hard, I am no militant of any party whatsoever. My interventions are strictly non-partisan and have always been so since I began posting comments here two years ago. In short, condemning your party and its leader for the electoral fraud they have committed does not make me a militant of the APC Party. Rest assured that I would not hesitate to take that party to task were it the one I consider culpable for the political tension and paralysis besetting our country at present.
Bilal Coleman, I am for Sierra Leone and the truth. I am a free spirit. I don’t allow anybody to put a straitjacket over me. In 2018 I supported Bio when the race came down to him and Samura. Until then I was with NGC and KKY who has turned out to be something else, revealing himself as someone that I would not allow to lead me in a do or die operation, because of conflicting orders that are highly likely to come from him.
I supported Bio in 2018 because of his pronouncements, especially that having to do with taming official corruption which the Koroma government had become known for, a fact proven by The Commission of Inquiry (COI). Just one example because there are many : Earnest Koroma allowed Ebola funds (“kasankay money “) to disappear from underneath his nose and eyes.
Upon assuming office Bio initially started behaving like a first cousin of Angel Gabriel (Gibril in Islam). I told friends and acquaintances that by the time he was through with APC and the country they would know that a man called Maada Bio was around in a positive way. But then strange things started happening which started to turn me away from “my saviour, the cousin of Angel Gibril. The chief minister (David Francis) had a journalist locked up for attempting to question him about $1.5 million which had appeared in his private account. Bio did nothing. The same chief minister was caught on video condoning corruption. Bio did nothing. Our chief minister stole Chinese rice. Bio did nothing. When Right Honourable Ngevao of Bio’s party revealed that Parliament was corrupt, our Bio did nothing. Large sums of money went missing in government offices. Bio did nothing. Bio would disappear for days on hired jets costing a poor nation huge amounts of money. I could go on and on, but I have to respect the rules set by the Telegraph.
You tell me, Bilal, in excellent conscience, why I should blindly support Bio with all that I have stated. You are dealing with somebody who is insanely patriotic,who defines his patriotism as “my country, right or wrong “.
I detest both APC and SLPP in equal measure. What you failed to discern in my previous comment, Bilal, was my desire for fairness and professionalism. If you have access to Mohammed Konneh, tell him to release the real results of the June 24th elections to save our country from economic disaster. Much of the world have turned their back on us. Many thanks for responding to me. Also many to the fellow on whose piece you rode to respond to me. Our little democratic corner is intact.
Mr Alieu, the “deontology” of a democratic electoral process – the basic rules and principles that make such a process morally right or wrong – is that the process should be free, fair and transparent. If these rules and principles are compromised, the process they undergird becomes unfree, unfair and opaque, making it and the results it yields morally wrong, indefensible and unacceptable.
Is it the case then that the” African consciousness” you are so desirous of “awakening” is predicated ultimately on the wilful violation of the rules and principles without which no credible democratic process is morally thinkable and indeed possible? My claim is that if, as a nation and a continent, we have chosen to adhere to the fundamental principles of democratic governance, that choice is premised on our conscious acceptance of certain moral universals inherent in the democratic process itself; moral universals that transcend the specificities of place or culture.
Put another way, what is wrong or right democratically in Sierra Leone should be wrong or right democratically anywhere else where democratic governance has been consciously accepted and adopted as the mode of political governance. Once accepted and adhered to, there is and should be no” West” versus” African” about these moral universals. To clamour for such cultural separatism is to fail to own up to one’s failings, meaning one’s failure in one’s democratic duties and obligations. The values denoted by the words “free”, “fair” and “transparent” are human values and are thus culturally blind. They are not amenable to any obfuscation or obscurantism, be it cultural or otherwise.
Mr. Yillah, I can feel the anger in your tone but hey it is understandable. I just hope you read Mr. Sorie’s commentary to its entirety, sadly it appears that you focused on mines with potent vigor. Back to the facts, you claim that the presidential elections weren’t free and fair but have you and your party taken any legal recourse with evidence to any competent courts i.e. Sierra Leone or the West African region at large. Hypothetically, if the case is defensible as been portrayed by you why not try the courts. This is the first time in recent history that the APC have turned to any international organization to at least channel a complain. My assumptions are perhaps they’ve exhausted all their manipulative tricks to hoodwink election observers which have proven futile. Lastly, I want you to ponder on this if Samura Kamara was a viable competition for Maada Bio would he have allowed him to run for president with an active corruption case. With all the mischaracterizations of his conduct by staunch APC editors as a junta. Give credit where it is due, Samura Kamara would have been penalized from the onset before the election. He was given breathing space to run by the incumbency. Now you tell me if that is not laudable…
I believe in realpolitik. Yes, the west are not happy with the situation in Sierra Leone, however, a corrupt democracy is better than none in their eyes.
The issue here is that the APC, while in power refused to strengthen state institution. Justice Cowan made salient proposals that could have alleviated the current impasse.
The Sierra Leone military is the weakest in the world, measures to strengthen the independence of the judiciary were ignored. The diplomats sent to various institutions were lacking in capacity, the police were compromised.Furthermore, they also failed to empower the middle class.The problem now is,although the APC probably won, they don’t have a clue as to how to translate the victory into reality. If Former President Koroma had strengthened the judiciary,they could have resorted to the courts. If he had modernised and strengthened the army, Mr Bio would have thought twice. If we had seasoned and experienced diplomats, they could have whipped up international support.
No gentlemen. The reality is there is nothing the APC can do. In other words Ernest made the bed, but Julius slept on it.
How can we awaken African consciousness, when some of our brethren’s are still yoked under colonial and half cooked Western ideologies. From a “deontological” perspective doing what’s right or wrong is not European, American nor African but human. So, I wonder why my brother Sorie always think that to be right is “West”. Dissecting your analysis, it seems as if there’s some sort of paranoia that if African countries fail to uphold perceived western values and ethics they will be punished by international institutions i.e. World Bank, and other key bodies. After independence most African countries remained non-aligned and I want to believe Sierra Leone is still that way. To sum it up, no western country or institution will over turn an election result in favor of a political party that is aggrieved of electoral processes. For credibility sake, the APC should try the West African courts if they have no faith in the local courts to adjudicate their case. I find it very disturbing when you continuously use phrases like covert or overt, in essence you are advocating a coup. If your party the APC really believe in law and order why won’t they publicly denounce ADEBAYOR. Here is a guy that urged his party members not to register, and made insidious videos via social media to usurp a legitimate government—and the outcome of that riotous act tagged politically motivated killings. The APC should examine the beginnings first before jumping to the outcomes.
Mr. Francis Allieu,
I could not agree with you more regarding the rants and raves of Mr. Santhkie Sorie. It is interesting that Mr. Sorie would tell you today that he is not APC but watch how he would use APC talking points the following day to bash President Bio and his government. Since the elections results were announced, I have noticed that Mr. Sorie has become a self-appointed spokesperson of the International Community. Expectedly, in that fictitious role, Mr. Sorie has stopped at nothing to drop the hammer on Sierra Leone with reckless abandon.
Yet the truth is, the APC lost the elections disgracefully because it failed to do its homework. While the SLPP was meticulously strategizing and putting modalities together for a resounding victory, APC was busy disrupting the country’s governance process in varying ways. Why would it now be crying to the International Community for a repetition of elections that it lost by a landslide? Democracy does not work like that. The democratic process requires that losers concede or if they are aggrieved, use the nation’s court system to redress their grievances.
Being the lawless organization that it has always been, the APC has refused to concede or go to court. Instead, it has illegally called on its elected parliamentarians, mayors, and councilors not to get involved in the governance process in Sierra Leone. But this ill-advised, stupid, and illegal action is bound to fail. For example, Mr. Mohamed Bangura, an elected APC member of parliament from Karene district, has ignored the foolishness of his party and has already been sworn in as an MP. It is reported that more elected APC MPs will soon follow Mr. Bangura. At this juncture, my advice to the APC is to shut up, obey the law and wait for 2028.
The only people who are convinced that SLPP won the elections are SLPP. This is akin to someone who has completely lost his sanity; he is the only one who is utterly certain that nothing is wrong with him. The sad part is that if he is somehow cured, he won’t be able to recall anything of his spell in the world of insanity, people around will have to tell him.
As the hours have become days and the days have become weeks, the euphoria of the demented declaration of Bio and the SLPP as winners of the elections will diminish and fade away. This will be replaced by slow but relentless calculation that the so-called government is in deep trouble, almost completely isolated from the outside world, as the international community tightens the screws of their of their displeasure with it. Combined with local attitude, Bio will soon find out that there are certain powers that one should not fall foul of – they are deadly both covertly and overtly.
The new chief minister naively and undiplomatically declared the other day, perhaps while in a drunken stupor, that his government was not bothered by the absence of congratulatory messages from the West; he will soon find out why they should. Can someone explain to him in basic language why international trade exists? It will also help if Sengeh is made to understand that all the Financial and other institutions of the world are controlled by the West. It’s probable that the chief minister made his remark in hopes of attracting the Chinese. Sierra Leone has the makings of a low level Cold War between East and West. Kwame Nkrumah, Patrice Lumumba and others stand as an example of what a Cold War looks like.