Written by By Cocorioko reporters on the ground
Friday, 13 February 2009
Sierra Leone People’s Party ( SLPP) candidate Mr.Solomon Berewa’s latest boloney that he loved Sierra Leone so dearly ( Love indeed ! !) that he conceded defeat in the 2007 Presidential Elections to avoid a Kenya or Zimbabwe-type chaos is not only a wicked and diabolical lie. It is a continuation of the culture of deception that has marked politics in Sierra Leone since time immemorial. The fact of the matter is that the SLPP was prepared for war and to contest the results to the bitter end . They had even taken concerted steps to have the Attorney General and Minister of Justice issue a writ of injunction forbidding the Chief Electoral Commissioner, Ms. Christiana Thorpe, from announcing the final results.
What saved Sierra Leone from another civil conflict was the intervention of the United Nations Secretary General ‘s Executive Representative in Sierra Leone, Mr.Victor Angelo and stakeholders, including diplomats and of course the refusal of former President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah to play up to the SLPP’s game to disrupt the announcement of the results.
VICTOR ANGELO : He stuck to his guns that the verdict of the people at the polls will be respected
This is a fact known so well to Sierra Leoneans that Mr.Solomon Berewa owes the whole nation an apology for standing at the Special Court and lying that he willingly conceded defeat to avoid chaos . Mr. “Lie-Lie ” Berewa, was it not Mr. Victor Angelo and stakeholders who pointed out to you that the elections were free and fair and that you will be held responsible for any chaos that ensued as a result of your stubbornness to accept the inevitable–Your sound defeat at the polls by the All People’s Congress (APC) Candidate, Mr.Ernest Bai Koroma ?
Ex-President Kabbah did not only dissociate himself from the SLPP plans to continue fighting the obvious elections defeat , but he pre-empted their unpatriotic plans by beginning the handing -over process as soon as the final results were announced.Kabbah infact the previous weekend had turned over his official vehicles and urged ministers to do the same. Is that not the reason why SLPP supporters are still crying for the blood of former President Kabbah ? Was it not the reason that Kabbah and Berewa fell out ? Was it not the reason that the SLPP barred Kabbah from attending their activities ? Whatever way Kabbah may have mismanaged the affairs of the country and the economy , which contributed to the SLPP’s ignominous defeat, one thing stands sure : He demonstrated extraordinary statesmanship by dissociating himself from Solomon Berewa and the SLPP ‘s plan to bring back chaos to the nation by disputing the most free and fair elections in the history of Africa. And this is one reason Kabbah is held to such acclaim in the international community.Had Kabbah listened to Berewa, John Benjamin, JJ Saffa , John Karimu, Patrick Foya, Victor Reider and others, there could have been another war in Sierra Leone. Kabbah wisely realized that there was no purpose continuing to fight the inevitable.
Mr. Berewa was even shameless to continue taking to task the Chief Elections Commissioner , Ms.Chritiana Thorpe, for nullifying the votes in the polling stations where overvoting was discovered . When a so-called statesman like Solomon Berewa stands in public and not only lies through his teeth but questions a legal act taken against dishonesty , what kind of respect does he expect from the populace ? With such dishonest claims and inclination to support rigging of elections, what confidence does Solomon Berewa inspire that, if he had won , he would have upheld the constutution and the laws of this land ? CHRISTIANA THORPE HONESTLY AND LEGALLY NULLIFIED VOTES NOT ONLY IN SLPP STRONGHOLDS BUT IN APC STRONGHOLDS AS WELL . SO WHY IS THE SLPP COMPLAINING AS IF THEY WERE THE ONLY VICTIMS ? IF SLPP DOES IT AGAIN IN 2012, THE SAME ACTIONS WILL BE TAKEN . THE SLPP MUST EITHER ACCEPT THAT THE WORLD IS ENJOYING A NEW DISPENSATION OF DEMOCRATIC ELECTIONS OR BE PREPARED TO FACE DISAPPOINTMENT WHENEVER THEY TRY TO STEAL AN ELECTION. 1967 AND 2007 SHOULD BE LEARNING CURVES FOR THE SLPP.
The SLPP were clearly and comprehensively defeated in the 2007 elections and the sooner the party accepts the defeat and move on , the better for the SLPP’s prestige , respect and credibility. All the grandstanding about yielding because of the nation’s interest only go to make the party look ridiculous and foolish. Who doesn’t know that the SLPP never accepts defeat at elections ? Who does not know that if the SLPP had not been forced , they would not have yielded, even if Sierra Leone had become a Rwanda.
Berewa should be ready to accept the reality of his defeat to maintain his respect. He should concede the fact that there was no way that he could have won the 2007 elections . The owners of the land of of Sierra Leone had long spoken before the elections : The SLPP would be evicted , come the 2007 elections and that was what happened. Can somebody please play them the hit song ‘INJECTMENT NOTICE’ to remind them, if they have already forgotten ?
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