ALPHA KANU,ย the rebel APCย member who joined the ruling SLPP Government with high-sounding promises of delivering Port Loko to the SLPP ,ย has givenย his first big let-down to the scavenging Paopa Government when the SLPPย failed to win the bye-elections in Koya, a clear indication that Alpha Khan’s defection will make no difference, as we predicted in an editorial.
Even though hundreds of Police flooded the area to intimidate voters and caused a voter apathy , with only 36% of registered voters turning up, and despite the show of force and the power of incumbency by the ruling party, the APCย still defeated them in the Parliamentary Bye-election at Constituency 073 in Port Loko .
According to a Summary Statement of Result, the APCย candidate Issa Oye Koroma polled 3, 936 votes while his SLPPย rival garnered 2, 711 votes.
Though the SLPPย are taking comfort from the fact that the margin of victory of the APCย is not wide, compared to what obtains in SLPPย strongholds, at least there was jubilation in the APCย camp that their party won and disappointed the expectations of detractors like Alpha Kanu who had given high hopes to the SLPPย that he would make them take the stronghold from the APC.
What was also reassuring was the SLPP Government was not able to rig the elections as they had done in previous others because U.S. Embassy officials were present live , along with observers from the EU and the parties during the counting of the votes.
