Home News: 19th June 2023
June 24 Elections May be Postponed!
By Atomic Pen
The petition presented to the high court of Sierra Leone and to the ECOWAS court by the APC and PMDC about the appointment of Mr. Mohamed Konneh at Commissioner of the Electoral Commission Sierra Leone (ECSL), in violation of the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone, is being looked into carefully and must be resolved before any elections can be conducted.
In effect, the petition brought foward by the two opposition parties, states among other things, that Mr. Konneh did not resign 12 months before the conduct of the 2018 presidential and parliamentary elections as required by the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone.
So far, the ruling party has no tangible excuses for appointing Mr. Konneh who was the Director of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) up to the time of his appointment.
The ECOWAS Court is looking into the matter closely and is being supported by UN, the US, EU, AU and other major donors. The law is the law and must be respected. It didn’t make provisions under which a Public Official could be appointed without resigning 12 months ahead of elections.
Judges in Sierra Leone are reported to be dodging the matter before them given its sensitive nature but which requires to be decided upon before June 24.
Hon. Dr. Kandeh Kolleh Yumkella had earlier defended Mr. Konneh in Parliament saying that the ECSL Commissioner didn’t resign because he didn’t know that he would be appointed.
It may be recalled that at least 12 MPs who didn’t resign from their appointments were relieved of their posts and all arguments to present their cases proved futile. So, the two opposition parties are insisting that the law that was applied to the 12 MPs be also applied to Konneh! What is good for the goose is also good for the gander!
Mr. Mohamed Konneh who currently stands on mosquito legs is under increasing pressure to step aside. He’s said to be walking on one leg while citing logistical nightmares about the non availability of electoral materials which by law should be ready 3 months before polling day.
The ECSL is currently plagued by a plethora of lamentable logistical problems while others are serious legal matters!
It has therefore become crystal clear that the elections will be postponed until the pending legal matters are settled by the courts. There’s no possibility for the pending legal matters to be settled by the courts before June 24.
