By: Winstanley R. Bankole. Johnson
The more I brood over the results announced by Mohamed Konneh/ECSL on the June 24th elections that pronounced Brig. Gen. (Rtd.) Bio re-elected as President with almost precisely the margin required to stave off a run-off, the more axiomatic the evidence that have continued to emerge justifying universal doubts, fears and uncertainties over the transparency and credibility of those results. Some of those emerging evidence are:
- THE SLPP VICTORY CELEBRATIONS
For something as significant as the miraculous re-election of an unpopular candidate, it was very low key and fleetingly short. They didn’t even spill over to the next non-business day. The only reason for that was because the SLPP themselves must have been as stupefied (as the rest of us) at the plausibility of the results announced by ECSL/Mohammed Konneh
- THE SLPP CHAIRMAN’S UNGUARDED STATEMENT
The statement of SLPP Chairman Dr. Prince Alex Harding that inter-alia “…. the SLPP would never hand over power to an APC Administration….” was as much an incitement to cause political unrest as it was cowardly, arrogant and further exposing an SLPP premonition to the announcement of an adulterated presidential elections results in their favour.
- THE OLIVE BRANCH
Though one should not question the prerogatives of a Fountain of Honour and Head of State (De-facto or De-Jure) to bless or curse his citizens, the spontaneity with which Dr. Samura Kamara was publicly appreciated (for the very first time) by Brig. Gen. (Rtd.) Bio as a leadership material to work with, and the speed with which Dr. Samura Kamara’s innate “APC Terrorists instincts” were exorcised were – like Greek Bearing Gifts – too good to be true, especially coming at the heels of such a bitterly fought contest.
Worse still Bio’s gesture as always sounded like a “Work in Progress”. It wasn’t well defined to ascertain whether it covers Dr. Samura Kamara’s supporters whose votes he had sworn to protect but have been left cheated of by the ECSL/Konneh results, and the terms by which they could be pacified going forward (if ever). Nor did the “Olive Branch” seem to address wrongs meted to those still detained in Police and Prison Cells countrywide for exercising their political franchises, as well as those whose private and business premises were set ablaze throughout the South-East and were sent scampering into the bushes traumatized, before during and after 24th June.
Further for a party as arrogant as the SLPP to have dispatched emissaries to the “APC Chief Terrorist” former President Koroma for peace overtures and possible resolution of what is deepening into a long political impasse would never have happened, if they were convinced their Presidential election victory as announced by ECSL/Mohammed Konneh was not skewed.
4.THE ENTREATIES FOR INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION
Yet another glaring justification for universal fears, doubts and uncertainties about the credibility of the results announced by ECSL/Mohamed Konneh is the passionate appeal by a putative APC member Dr. Sylvia Blyden (OOR) to mainly the Western Internal Community of Nations and Elections Observer Organizations comprising the Carter Center, National Elections Watch (NEW), National Democratic Institute (NDI), UK, US, Germany, Ireland, France, African Union (AU), ECOWAS – operating either as country-specific or in collectively as EU Nations – openly eliciting their congratulatory sentiments for an SLPP administration that she has been tacitly working with in an unscripted de-facto alliance, based on the still unresolved outcomes of a much discredited electoral process.
Dr. Blyden’s appeal premised on the absence of any other credible results contradicting the aggregates as tabulated and announced by the ECSL from Results Reconciliations Forms (RRFs) in their authority immediately evokes a few questions:
(a). If in accordance with our extant electoral laws (2012 and/or as amended in 2022) the ECSL are the only body constitutionally empowered to conduct public elections and announce results, and they had done so transparently and creditably in accordance with those laws (and the 1991 Constitution), why does she still believe that congratulatory sentiments from the international community are additionally relevant to validate the mandate of the candidate declared as winner by the ECSL?
(b). Where is it in any of those electoral laws (above) that production of parallel RRFs by any other local or Internationally accredited Elections Observer Group are a pre-requisite for validation of results as announced by the ECSL?
And even assuming an unwritten agreement on that existed between the rest of the Observer Groups and the ECSL, why did the ECSL not collectively review, tally, and agree all those parallel RRFs transparently with all of those other Observer Groups (including the NEW) before proceeding to announce Brig. Gen (Rtd.) Bio as the winner absolute?
(c). Could it possibly be that it is on account of a breach of the agreement in (b) above that has irked the International Community to the extent of withholding their congratulatory sentiments because of what they have described as vast inconsistencies, discrepancies and variances between the numbers of what all of them have tallied, as against what the ECSL went on to announce as their own final results for the Presidential elections?
(d). How come much respect is being accorded RRFs expected from “any other international sources” without due cognizance or the same respect for those in-puted into results collated and produced by the National Elections Watch (NEW)?
Skewed
Pundits still hold the view that it was on account those glaring inconsistencies, irregularities and tabulation discrepancies including the possible switching of numbers to favour unpopular candidates and political Parties (and the NEW reports results insinuates much more to that than has been published) that Mohammed Konneh, realizing that the results were not going their way allegedly stormed out of the Collation Center leaving all the Observers to their state and conditions and proceeded to declare the candidate of his choice as “Winner”.
They are further suspecting that it is hinging on all of that that they (the International Community) are continuing to withhold their congratulatory sentiments for Brig. Gen. (Rtd.) Bio to avoid being tarred with the same brush as ECSL/Mohammed Konneh for endorsing fraudulent/stolen elections mandates, which is the very basis for endemic poverty, social instability and internecine strife and wars within weak pseudo-democratic nations in Africa in particular.
In the eyes of the International Community (and of course the APC Party), the 24 June elections are far from over and are still in the results counting and tallying stages.
Dr. Blyden’s public solicitation for international recognition for this Bio regime as announced by the ECSL either leaves an impression that those results were veritably cooked and could eventually be nullified no matter how long that takes, or that without those congratulatory sentiments the Bio administration would not be able to function as a government. So it makes a huge difference and a matter of serious concern that the EU, UK and Ireland – both very well renowned for courtesies – and the US, Germany, France, Ireland, AU, Carter Center, National Democratic Institute (NDI), National Elections Watch (NEW) and ECOWAS etc. should continue to be withholding their felicitations possibly because as far as they (and APC) are concerned, the results announced by the ECSL/Mohammed Konneh are skewed.
Charade
From my humble perspectives if there is anyone to blame as bearing the greatest responsibility for the delayed congratulatory sentiments from the International Observers so desperately needed by the government it should be Mohamed Konneh. He has failed to have performed according to plan and to have produced the disaggregated results of the elections from polling center to polling center along the length and breadth of this country as was agreed with them upon completion of the elections from the get-go. And unless he complies, I don’t see the International Community Comprising the Elections Observer nations and groups varying their demand for production of the disaggregated votes.
It is worrisome if we have reached a point where purportedly credible organizations and countries who organize and supervise/monitor elections (US, Germany, France, Ireland, AU, Carter Center, National Democratic Institute (NDI), National Elections Watch (NEW) and ECOWAS etc) can neither certify the outcomes of their efforts nor congratulate emerging winners, and it will also be a useless waste of resources to be sending Elections Observers anywhere else hereafter.
If ECSL/Konneh gets away with this charade, incumbent governments in Africa with absolute control over the five (5) arms of government (Security Sector; Legislature, Electoral Commission; Political Parties Regulations Authority; and the Judiciary) will always be having their way and say, and that will be as good as reverting to One-Party “Kakistocracies” with ease. So ECSL/Mohammed Konneh must be prevailed upon to produce those disaggregated results. After all: “If D Forl Whyte: Ee Whyte Oh!!”
It makes no sense that entreaties for resolution of our seeming political impasse would appear to be focused more on the victims (APC/Dr. Samura Kamara) rather than on the villains (ECSL/Mohammed Konneh), and for the former to put the nation above politics as they insinuate a Government of National Unity or Union Government (GNU/UG).
For the APC/Dr. Samura Kamara to ever capitulate to the formation of a government of National Unity with Brig. Gen. (Rtd.) Bio/SLPP at the helm at these challenging times of a need to re-define our archaic kind of politics will be as good as condoning lawlessness and a continuation of SLPP governance on a stolen mandate. A GNU/UG is both untenable and impracticable under our present circumstances because we are neither under a state of emergency nor at war. Additionally, the palpable seeds of ethno-regional division sown between and amongst us since April 2018 (and which the Brig. Gen (Rtd.) himself has often alluded to and acknowledged have been evident since prior to our attaining independence), will not support it.
To condone or participate in a GNU/UG (with SLPP at the helm) is to fall into the SLPP trap of transforming Sierra Leone into a One-Party Stay State – effortlessly. Accordingly, the APC must stick to their guns not to participate in governance under the SLPP – whether the SLPP proceeds to run Sierra Leone as “Half-Party State. Otherwise, the leadership commitment of the APC and Dr. Samura Kamara to always protect and defend their supporters’ votes and make redefining the political trajectory of Sierra Leone their responsibility will pale into a travesty.
