Secrecy of 2023 General Elections

I BLOW MY CONCH ON ISSUES

By Alusine Fullah

The 2023 general elections are the fifth consecutive elections in Sierra Leone since the end of the civil war in 2002. One can also say that, it is the second since the United Nations Integrated Peace building Office in Sierra Leone (UNIPSIL) completed its mission in March 2014. The 2023 Elections are also the second to be funded and independently managed by Sierra Leone. The 2023 general elections have taken place at a critical time in the political ecosystem of the continent including latent and lingering economic impacts of COVID-19 pandemic backed by the Russia-Ukraine conflict. 13 political parties contested the presidential election, but the political ecosystem was dominated by the Sierra Leone Peoples’ Party (SLPP) and the All Peoples’ Congress (APC).

Among those elections, two resulted in the transfer of power from the incumbent to the opposition. In 2007, a peaceful transfer of power from the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) to the APC occurred while a reserved transition took placed in 2018 with the victory of the SLPP in the presidential election. The significant gains to stabilize democracy and the rule of law in the country were the regular and peaceful conduct of multiparty elections present further opportunities to cement democracy and good governance as a panacea to the increasing citizen disenchantment of elections and political transitions in recent times.

Believe it or not, tensions were full to the brink. Inter-party and extra-party rancour, vilification campaigns, mutual accusations, use of hostile language, harassment, intimidation and other forms of physical violence were the order of the day. For elections observers, political tensions have been a culture since in the 90s. According to Wanep Alert and Response Mechanism (WARM) news policy for 2023 general elections: “A total of 551 political and election-related violence recorded in the country between 1996 and 2023….” Despite the TRC recommendations which focus on truth-telling, social forgiveness, amnesty, identification and prosecution of war crimes and crimes against humanity, Sierra Leone still hangs/ swims in the ocean of political grievances and greed. Retributive politics stinks across the country.

For the 2023, the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone officially declared election campaign period for presidential, parliamentary, and local council elections for 2023 general elections. On a statement that was released on the 21^st May, 2023, the Chief Electoral Commissioner, Chairman and National Returning Officer, Mohamed Konneh declares: “I hereby declare the following: Tuesday 23^rd May-Thursday 22^nd June 2023 (from 7:00 am-5:00 pm daily) as the period for Electoral Campaigns in Sierra Leone; Friday 23^rd June 2023 Cooling-off period; Saturday 24^th June 2023 Election day. Yes, right at that period, the political battle line was drawn. Who would take the golden seat? Back then, it was unknown really!

The first and second weeks of the campaign period all went well. This could be manifested by the Political Parties Regulation Commission on their preliminary statement on the first ten days of election campaigns. According to PPRC, the campaigns were substantially peaceful and orderly. PPRC states: “The Political Parties Regulation Commission (PPRC) followed the campaign trail of all the fourteen political parties participating in the June 24^th, 2023 elections, for the first ten days of the campaign and is pleased to inform the public that, thus far, the campaigns have been substantially peaceful and orderly.” PPRC went further to state the observation so far. During this period, we observed the following: “There are minimal obscenities and public insults; in Freetown, we did not notice or receive any report of destruction of the opponents’ campaign materials or obstruction of the opponents’ campaign activities…”

That notwithstanding, the commission noted further that there were a few incidents that were worth taking to the attention of the leadership of the competing political parties. These are the following incidents: The obstruction of the APC campaign activity at Moriba Town, Bonthe District, allegedly by operatives of the SLPP; attacks on known supporters of the SLPP at Mile 91, that led to their seeking refuge at Moyamba Junction for a night for safety; the alleged destruction of campaign materials of the opponent in Mile 91 and Magburaka in Tonkolili District, Blama in Kenema District, Kabala in Koinadugu District, Kailahun Town in Kailahun District, Mongor Bendgu, in Falaba District; the incendiary and inciting ethno regional statements made by two senior members of the APC party, threatening  to disrupt campaign activities of the SLPP in the North Western Regions; the burning of the residence of Madam Diana Konomanyi; political parties campaigning outside the time limit for campaigns, which is 7 am to 5 pm each day.

Political manifestos were raining heavily at the nooks and crannies of every Sierra Leonean. Some of those political manifestos even a lunatic man can easily tell you that they are jam-tomorrow (unfulfilled manifestos). In the ocean of those political manifestos, we had the herrings, tilapia, crocodile, and shacks. The shacks were the APC and the SLPP. In their manifestos, the shacks gave a lot of promises to their electorates. Going through their manifestos, despite there are differences, but there is a sense of similarities in them. On the side of All People’s Congress, the major theme in their manifesto is to unify Sierra Leone. It states: “We shall take immediate steps to restore national cohesion, peace, and unity…”

On the side of the Sierra Leone People’s Party, their major theme is to feed Sierra Leone. It states: “The topmost priority for H.E Present Bio in his second term is to ensure Sierra Leone is food self-sufficient within the next five years…the next SLPP government will boost agriculture productivity to fuel inclusive growth.” Meanwhile, the manifesto of the SLPP is anchored on five key thematic areas: Feed Salone, human capital development for nurturing skills for 21^st century industry, youth empowerment scheme, revamping the public service architecture through delivery, efficiency and professionalism, technology and infrastructure programmes to service as pathways for sustained economic growth.  On the side of the APC, their manifesto is anchored on ten pillars: fostering national unity and cohesion-one nation; address economic deficiencies and the cost-of-living crisis at the structural level; intensify efforts in job creation and the establishment of pathways for every adult, especially the youth and women, to earn a living wage; accelerate investments in our people, with a specific focus on the capabilities of our children, women, and youth; accelerate investments in physical and digital infrastructure development; deepen and strengthen decentralization and rural development; enhance democratic good governance and the rule of law; protect our environment, and respond to climate change; strengthen economic diplomacy; foster partnerships with the diaspora for national development.

Few weeks/ days to elections, the political atmosphere changed drastically. Things or violence was unfolding here and there. The All People’s Congress organized a press conference on the 14^th June, 2023. During this process, the presidential candidate for the All People’s Congress, Samura Kamara raised several concerns against ECSL and the security forces.  Samura Kamara started by expressing his dismay about the attitude of the security forces towards the members and supporters of the APC. He said: “The intimidation and harassment by the security forces to our supporters is too much and it must stop…” He went further to expressed the following concerns: the printing of poor quality of voter ID cards from the ECSL; non-qualification of the ECSL chief commissioner; the implementation of the PR system; the midterm census; missing the deadline to submit the final voters registration by the ECSL; lack of trust in the judiciary, parliament, audit SL and the anti-corruption commission by the APC; lack of trust in the security forces by the APC; procurement and distribution of weapons to mob groups and the security forces by the APC; arbitrary arrest and detention of APC party supporters before and during elections.

Moreover, Samura Kamara also said: “APC demands the resignation of the chief electoral commissioner, Mohamed Konneh and the entire commissioners of the ECSL and to be replaced by an independent international accredited electoral body to conduct the elections; the ECSL should provide the details information of the disaggregated final voters list; government should order the security forces to stop brutalizing our supporters; ECSL should guarantee the counting of ballot immediately after voting in front of the party agents and the international community. He ended by firmly stressing that the above demands are to be addressed within 72 hours and if not the APC will come out with a strong statement. He said: “…these demands must be addressed within 72 hours…the APC will not accept any results that do not reflect the votes of the masses…” On his side, the Chief Electoral Commissioner, Mohamed K. Konneh said: “My commissioners and I are not going to resign…”

Indeed, the demands of the APC were not addressed. So what was their next stance? On the 17^th June, 2023, the All People’s Congress (APC) wrote to the leadership of the police requesting for what they called a peace protest to the offices of the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone. Based on that letter, the leadership of the Sierra Leone Police invited the APC to a meeting in order to discuss the procedures of the protest. According to Brima Jah Esq. “The APC did not honour the invitation from the IG…” On the 20^th again the APC wrote another letter that was titled: “Further notification of intention to hold peaceful march to the offices of the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone…we want to unequivocally state here that, if all the issues are not resolved in today’s 12pm meeting, be notified that we have now call out our supporters nation-wide to converge in designated areas to be communicated by the party for a peaceful protest on Wednesday 21th June, 2023…”

On the 27^th June, 2023, the National Returning Officer, Mohamed K. Konneh announced the final presidential results. Mohamed declared the incumbent President, Julius Maada Bio as the winner of the 2023 election. He got a landslide victory by securing 56.17 percent of the votes cast, while his main challenger, Samura Kamara trailed behind with 41.16 percent. The Chief Electoral Commissioner declared: “Therefore, by the powers vested in me as the National Returning Officer by Section 67, 51 (2) and 92 (4) of the Public Elections Act, 2022 (Act No.17 of 2022) and pursuant to section 42 (2)(e) of the Constitution of Sierra Leone, 1991 (Act No.6 of 1991, I hereby certify that BIO JULIUS MAADA, having polled 1,566,932 of valid votes cast representing 56.17% of total valid cast in the 24^th June, 2023 Presidential election duly elected President of the Republic of Sierra Leone.”

By looks of things, the outcome of the results left the APC in tatters and total disappointment. What was their position? In a press release that was dated on the 29^th June, 2023, the APC totally rejected the presidential results that were pronounced by the National Returning Officer, Mohamed K. Konneh. The press release states: “The APC totally rejects the presidential results…it is the position of the APC party that the final presidential results pronounced by the Chief Electoral Commissioner of the ECSL was not the true representation of the total number of valid votes cast in each district. The results announced by Mr. Konneh do not represent a true picture of results tallied at polling stations and the districts…” Addressing his compatriots at the party Headquarters, Samura Kamara said: “It is a sad day for our beloved country. It is a frontal attack on our fledgling democracy. These results are NOT credible and I categorically reject the outcome so announced by the electoral commissioner.”

Locally and internationally, there were lot of observers. Critically, the observations were in mixed feelings. For the Sierra Leone Bar Association (SLBA): “…the 24^th June 2023 multi-tier elections were free, fair and largely peaceful. The SLBA therefore commends the ECSL and the security personnel for their selfless service. In the above regard, the SLBA congratulate His Excellency Dr. Julius Maada Bio on his re-election as President of the Republic of Sierra Leone.”

The National Elections Watch (NEW) stated in their observations that going by the data from its Process and Result Verification for Transparency (PRRVT), candidate Julius Maada Bio would poll between 47% and 53% and therefore the ECSL Chief Commissioner would be wrong to call an outright winner of the 2023 presidential election on the first ballot. This observation opened a panorama’s box. Based on that observation, institutions like the All Political Party Association (APPA) out rightly debunked the observations/ actions of the National Elections Watch (NEW). They stated: “APPA-SL is disappointed at the June 27^th so-called “independent, non-partisan assessment of the June 24 Presidential Result” report by the National Elections Watch (NEW).” For the association, they viewed the conduct of the June 24^th Multi-tie Elections as transparent, inclusive and peaceful. Apart from APPA-SL, Professor Adams B. Steven (Ph.D) has given critical eyes on the observation made by NEW.

ECOWAS reported the following: in a significant number of polling stations visited (57.14%), polling staff and materials did not arrive before the scheduled start time of 7:00 am; in 37% of polling stations observed, polling commenced within the first hour while in 63% of cases polling started with considerable delays due to the late arrival of polling staff and materials; polling centres were however easily identifiable to voters; the atmosphere at the polling stations was relatively and generally peaceful with security agents presents in 92% of the stations visited; almost 98% of polling stations were set up in a way that guaranteed the secrecy of the vote. In few cases, however, such as at Polling Stations no.4 of the Polling Centre located at Hockey Pitch 1 by football field pavilion in Wilberforce (Western Area Urban); voting materials were generally available in sufficient quantities. However, in 7% of polling stations visited, there was one type of electoral material or the other that was not available, such as indelible ink, Reconciliation and Results Forms (RRF), Gender Tally Sheets, Tamper-evident envelopes (TEEs), and ink-pads; with respect to inclusion, 63% of polling stations visited were accessible to persons living with disability (PWDs); observers did not witness any active campaign around the polling centres visited.

On the side of the African Union, the chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), H.E Moussa Faki Mahamat, deployed the African Union Election Observation Mission (AUEOM) led by H.E Hailemariam D. Boshem former Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Euthopia and comprised of 50 Short Term Observers (STOs). The observers from the AU were deployed in 22 teams to six regions in Sierra Leone to observe key processes including the final phrases of the electoral campaigns, Election Day and limited post-election activities.

Based on the preparedness of the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone, the AU notes: the mission notes that the ECSL received the requisite funding to conduct the election on time and conducted all pre-election activities as per the election calendar; a total of 3,374, 258 were registered, an increase of 195,595 from 2018. However, the mission notes that the ECSL did not provide comprehensive disaggregated voter register data as requested by some electoral stakeholders; some stakeholders consulted raised concerns on the quality of the cards which did not show voters’ pictures accurately and delay in delivering voters cards in some areas; the mission noted that 53.9% (118) of the polling stations visited opined on time; the essential elections materials were available in adequate quantity in 85.8% (188) of the polling stations visited.

In their final statement, the international observer missions, U.S, U.K, Ireland, Germany, France and E.U applauded the people of Sierra Leone for their active participation and commendable dedication in exercising their democratic rights to vote. The joint statement stated: “We applaud the Sierra Leonean people for their participation in the June 24^th, 2023, general elections. We commend the commitment and dedication displayed by the citizens of Sierra Leone in exercising their democratic right to vote and engaging in the electoral process.”

However, the delegation raised concerns like transparency and logistical problems of the tabulation process. “We note that significant logistical problems hampered voting on Election Day in certain areas. We share the concerns of national and international observation missions about the lack of transparency in the tabulation process.”

The U.S, U.K, Ireland, Germany, France and EU Delegation went further to state that despite the above challenges/ concerns, they are always committed to supporting democracy and the aspirations of the Sierra Leonean people. The delegation ended by admonishing all Sierra Leoneans to respect the rule of law and engage in peaceful dialogue to resolve disputes.

the APC stood on the following demands for some months: “The APC declares its non-participation in any level of governance, including the legislature and local councils, as the results have already been tampered with to give the SLPP an unjust majority at all levels; We demand the resignation of Mr. Mohamed Konneh and all the other commissioners of the ECSL based on demonstrated bias and failure to conduct their duties impartially; We insist on a rerun of the elections within six months to be overseen by credible individuals and institutions who will ensure a fair and transparent process. But what is the stance of the just elected APC MPs? Very recently, the elect MPs, Mayors and Chairpersons have likewise also pledged to refrain from participating in the local governance of Sierra Leone. On their statement they stated: “We shall not participate in the 6^th Parliament of Sierra Leone in line with the resolution of the party…we stand with the party’s position…”

However, staunch members like JFK and Cornelius Orguntola Melvin Deveaux have debunked the idea of APC executive for not following legal procedures. JFK tweeted: “As lawyers we owe an ethical duty to represent the best interests of the client. Elections are challenged by petitioning the results before the courts. Any decision by the APC to abandon legal redress is regrettable.” Cornelius Orguntola Melvin Deveaux has positioned his position on his article “The APC and The Just Concluded Multitier Elections.” He wrote: “Many supporters and well-meaning citizens may not be aware of how extensive were the internal consultations, howbeit rumors that the expanded NAC meeting past Friday was in conclusion concerning a strike action and whether to go to court. Nonetheless, it is relevant to note that the new Constitution of the APC does not bestow such powers on the national executive or the National Advisory Committee (NAC) to issue a directive to elected MPs, Mayors, District Council Chairpersons, and Local Councils of the APC not to participate in the governance of the state…in my view, the call to not participate in governance is a ploy by these same casuistic members to send the party to political oblivion…there was not unity, no campaign strategy, no campaign message, and limited campaign logistics…”