By Sayoh Kamara
At the headquarters of the All People’s Congress (APC) party on Wednesday, 24 April, 2024, the APC Co-chair, Dr. Kaifala Marah and his eminent colleagues representing the party on the Tripartite Committee briefed the leadership and members of the party on recent developments with a solemn call to exercise restraint and not pre-empt the outcomes of the Committee’s examination exercise.
Dr Marah said that the work of the Committee will end on 19 June 2024, contingent on the cooperation of the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone (ECSL) to submit a list of documents requested by the Committee for examination. Meanwhile, some of the relevant documents requested from other elections management bodies have been provided by Statistics Sierra Leone, SLP, RSLAF, ONS and PPRC. The NCRA as the ECSL is yet to provide requested documents.
He assured that the Committee which has been subdivided into groups to research aspects of election laws, institutional reforms and elections management are dedicated to serving their conscience and country, which is why, he indicated, that all decisions reached by the Committee are by consensus.
He re-echoed that the responsibility assigned to him and his colleague representatives of the APC party is a professional one and requires commitment to be able to examine the respective areas of the review. He said his team is in constant touch with the APC party leadership and the general membership through high-level and general briefings.
Some people are not letting them focus on the job assigned to them by the party leadership and are instead pushing for a preemption of the outcomes of the Committee’s work even before the examinations took place, he said.
And, warned further that premature conclusions will undermine the credibility of the entire process. He therefore announced the collective position taken by the Committee and the leadership of the party that the findings of the Committee will inform the recommendations. “This is the position of the party leaders including Dr. Samura Mathew Wilson Kamara, Hon. Chernor Ramadan Maju Bah, and all” he said.
He concluded by reassuring party members that the Committee will remain engaged with the party leadership and all, as the review unfolds, and that they will take the party along. He implored all and sundry to continue supporting this important national exercise.
