With condemnations raining from across the world about the despotic way in which the June 24 presidential polls were handled by the leadership of the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL), Mohamed K. Konneh, on orders of his paymasters at State Lodge, on Hill Station in Freetown, huge lack of transparency continue to be exposed even after the election. And the flawed process is raising more unanswered questions than one would actually imagine if Sierra Leone is really governed by a democratic rule. As in accordance with international best practices and national electoral laws, the much partisan and partial ECSL failed to measure up as a leading democratic institution charged with the mandate of the management of electoral businesses in the challenging democratic dispensation. Rather, the ECSL Chief Electoral Commissioner and National Returning Officer, Mohamed K. Konneh went ahead even before the completion of tabulations, tallying and counting and of results declared what he referred to as 60% of the whole results of vote cast, which forcefully and criminally placed the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) presidential candidate, Julius Maada Bio, as winner of the flawed polls, with 1,067,668, at 56.17% and APC candidate, Dr Samura M.W. Kamara with 793,551 with 41.16%. There and then the partial, partisan and unprofessional security sector, which throughout the electioneering process has been playing to the dictates of the ruling SLPP and the Bio government engaged in gross human rights violations and abuses, immediately imposed restrictions of civilian movements by deploying their armed personnel across the country. Reports are that armed security forces to certain extent killed innocent civilians in Lunsar and in Mile Siaka, Port Loko district in the Northwest region, all in the unprofessional name of quelling any form of resistance from those they considered as opposition APC supporters and members to the ‘illegal’ pronouncement of Bio as winner of the controversial presidential polls.
To this brand of military dictatorship under the guise of democratic periodic election, the so-called re-elected Bio led SLPP administration is sets to work alone, without the participation of opposition political parties. And by the look of things, the imposed government may face Western isolations in certain areas if the democratic will of the majority is not allowed to prevail.
With the winner take all democratic culture of the SLPP, the self-declared winner of June 24 presidential election, not even the main opposition APC is willing and prepared to work with a government who is busy looking for endorsements from the world over. The self-imposed Bio regime is being criticized by domestic and international development partners including Western diplomatic missions in Sierra Leone, for which the main opposition APC has denounced the flawed presidential polls results, saying that they won’t work with an ‘illegitimate’ government.
The APC party in a position statement, issued last Friday 30 June 2023, made it abundantly clear that they will not work with an ‘illegal’ government, sounding their withdrawal from working with what they described as an ‘illegitimate’ administration.
The opposition APC withdrawal emerged following series of concerns raised by domestic and foreign election observers, over deliberate lack of transparency in the tabulation of presidential polls results.
Among dozens of such foreign and domestic election observers who expressed concerns about lack of transparency in the process of results handling are, the European Union Election Observer Mission, the Carter Centre Election Observation Delegation to Sierra Leone, National Election Watch et al…
Foreign and domestic observers’ positions regarding the flawed process were followed up with a joint statement by six Western diplomatic missions in Sierra Leone. They include the European Union Delegation to Sierra Leone, British High Commission, United States, Irish, German, and French embassies. They collectively highlighted unethical issues of lack of transparency in the tabulation of presidential polls results among others. Also in their joint statement, signed by heads of the six Western diplomatic missions; the EU Ambassador Mannuel Muller, the German Ambassador, Jens Karus–Masse, the U.S. Ambassador to Sierra Leone, David Reimer, the British High Commissioner, Lisa Cheseny, MBE, Clarie Buckley, the Irish Ambassador and the French Charge d’affaires, Romain Vullaume reads, “We share the concerns of national and international observation missions about the lack of transparency in the tabulation process.”
The six Western diplomatic missions observed that logistical problems hampered voting in certain areas.
Moreover, concerns over lack of transparency in the tabulation of presidential polls results, the Head of Carter Center Election Observation Delegation to the June 24 election, former U.S. Ambassador, Cameron Hume exposed the lack of integrity of votes counting stage.
He informed that there were so many ballot boxes with broken seals which according to him, are visual examples of lack of transparency. Ambassador Hume said that there was an agreement that the data be projected so that everybody observers and political parties’ representatives can see and track it, but the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL) failed to project the results.
“None of the tabulation centre results were projected… there were break of chain of confidence and damage of confidence at the last stage of the process,” observes Ambassador Hume.
The former U.S. diplomat clearly pointed out that the opposition APC presidential candidate, Dr Samura Mathew Wilson Kamara did better, but however stopped short from speculating the exact level performance of the ruling SLPP leader and presidential front runner.
The Carter Center which has been observing periodic democratic elections in Sierra Leone since 2002 onto the June 24, 2023, polls, visited one hundred and nineteen polling (119) stations, observed tallying and made their findings public their observations in press releases issues on polling day and after voting.
On 25 June, a day after voting, the Carter Center raised concerns about lack of transparency and called on the ECSL to ensure transparency in proceeding days onto the release of the results.
“We urge the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone to publish results at polling station levels to allow for cross-verifications by party agents, citizens, domestic and foreign observers in accordance with international best practices,” the release reads.
The Carter Center in another statement issued on 27 June, also expressed concern about transparency and called calm while the tabulation was underway.
Among other issues the Carter Center observed were delays in the opening of polling stations and centers, lack of adequate election and voting materials, huge voter turnout up to ninety percent (90%), inconsistencies of voters’ names on the voter registers at certain polling stations, insufficient ballot materials at some stations in Freetown.
Prior to the declaration of the ruling SLPP and Bio as winner of the polls, the United States Embassy in Freetown, U.S. States Department for African Affairs also made mention of lack of transparency in the tabulation process of results.
FORUM therefore join elections experts and political pundits round the world to ascertain why the deliberate systems failures especially when all necessary logistical and financial supports were made readily available to the election commission and Mohamed K. Konneh months ahead of the June 24 polls? Only God, Konneh and the powers that be know why Sierra Leone returned to international news headlines for electoral fraud and flouting of modern democratic norms.
