NATIONAL ELECTIONS COMMISSION CHAIRMAN INFA ALLIE CONTEH
THE ALL PEOPLE’S CONGRESS REJECTS IT
The Chief Electoral Commissioner
National Returning Officer
National Electoral Commission (NEC)
OAU Drive
23rd August, 2019
Dear Chief Electoral Commissioner,
APPREHENSION AND PROTEST AT YOUR PUBLIC NOTICE ON TALLYING AND ANNOUNCEMENT OF RESULTS IN CONSTITUENCY 110 WESTERN AREA RURAL DISTRICT AND WARD 034 IN KENEMA DISTRICT
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I wish to refer to your public notice on the above and to observe as follows:
1. That we are of the view that the tallying be done in the district where the voting and counting would have been done. Moving the ballot boxes from Waterloo to Wellington creates room for manipulation by unscrupulous persons. You have the entire staff of National Electoral Commission (NEC) to be moved to Waterloo to ensure transparency in the tallying and we suggest manual counting.
2. In your public notice, you informed the public that you will announce the certified result on Sunday 25th August, 2019 instead of Saturday 24th August 2019. We are of the view that the announcement of the result be done immediately after tallying at the District level to obviate suspicion and tension.
3. We are informed that certain ill-disposed elements plan to put on APC T-shirts on Election Day to give the APC a bad name. We are informing you that such elements do not come from our Party and the police should arrest them on sight.
4. Those APC Party members (22) who are currently in detention at the Pademba Road Correctional Centre should be allowed to vote on Election Day. They are not convicts neither have they been found guilty for any electoral offences. They should be presumed innocent until found guilty by a competent Court of Law. We insist that these APC members should not be disenfranchised and we say so in the name of justice and fair play.
5. We believe that to further create a level playing field NEC should ask the police to provide one security personnel to be attached to each of the accredited vehicles to be used by executive members of political parties.
6. We pray that you will use your very best endeavours to play a neutral role and be guided by the provisions of section 33 of the National Constitution.
7. The APC would like to draw the attention of the Chairman of the National Electoral Commission to Section 93 (1) a-c and Section 93 (2) of the Public Elections Act. But we want to specifically refer the Chairman of the Commission to Section 94 (2), (3), (4) (a) of the said public Elections Act which is very instructive in supporting our case for the tallying to be done at the District level.
Infact the Public Elections Act mandates the District Returning Officer to ‘’ compile a summary of all the statements of the result from the polling stations concerned and certify as many copies as may be required of each summary to the Regional Returning Officer showing the number of votes cast for each constituency candidate or as the case may be, each candidate in any other election held on the same day.
8. Furthermore Section 94 (2) of the said Public Elections Act mandates ‘’the District Returning Officer to supply Certified Copies of the Summary of the Result compiled to all observers or Counting Agents present at the office of the District Returning Officer.’’
9. You can now see why we insist that the tallying be done at District level.
10. We count on your understanding to ensure that tallying be done at the district level and the results be announced immediately therefore on Saturday 24th August 2019 instead of Sunday 25th August 2019.
Signed:
Amb. Dr. Alhaji Osman Foday Yansaneh
National Secretary General – APC
Copy: Political Parties Registration Commission
“Human Rights Commission
“Sierra Leone Prisons
“Embassies and International Partners
“Ministry of Internal Affairs
“The Inspector General of Police
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THE NATIONAL GRAND COALITION PROTESTS
NATIONAL GRAND COALITION PARTY
14 NAIMBANA STREET, FREETOWN. Tel: +23276542046
PRESS RELEASE
23rd AUGUST 2019
TALLYING AND ANNOUNCEMENT OF RESULTS FOR PARLIAMENTARY BYE ELECTION FOR
CONSTITUENCY 110 IN THE WESTERN AREA RURAL DISTRICT.
The National Grand Coalition party (NGC) would like to inform the general public that we vehemently oppose the highly suspicious measures announced in the NEC Press Release of 22nd August 2019 stating that a) tallying for the above mentioned bye election will be done at the NEC National Data Center at Wellington instead of at the usual venue i.e. the NEC Western Area Rural District office in Waterloo and b) announcement of the certified results will take place not at the tallying site immediately after the election but rather the following day at NEC Headquarters.
These changes in our opinion signal the start of yet another attempt by NEC to undermine the integrity of the electoral process and make room for official tampering with the results. Only a few months ago, our party was forced to temporarily suspend our participation in the elections due to stark irregularities during the Tonko Limba elections such as issuance of
fake ballot papers, ballot stuffing, and more significantly the announcement of results in spite of AN INCOMPLETE PUBLIC TALLYING PROCESS.
It is unfortunate that the action now taken by the Chief Electoral Commissioner gives us a sense of déjà-vu, and of a return to the Tonko Limba –type election.In Constituency 110 at the moment there is a highly charged atmosphere as tensions keep
rising. Yet these changes made are so provocative that we are wondering what the real motives are. Already we are receiving reports of a very significant build up of police security around the Peninsula area, creating precisely the atmosphere that intimidates and keeps voters away.
We have therefore called on the Chief Electoral Commissioner to reverse his decision and to
avoid all action that would endanger the security of our people and undo the sanctity of our democracy.
Dr. Dennis Bright
Chairman and Leader
14 NAIMBANA STREET, FREETOWN. Tel: +23276542046
