BIG HOPE FOR ELECTORAL REFORMS AND DEMOCRACY IN SIERRA LEONE
By Kabs Kanu
U.S. AMBASSADOR BRYAN HUNT IS ONE OF THE BEST FOREIGN AMBASSADORS I HAVE EVER SEEN IN SIERRA LEONE. He understands the issues well; he articulates them excellently in fairness to all parties involved . He leaves no further questions to be answered. He is unbiased. He is upfront and straightforward. He wants the best for our nation.
I had my doubts about the Tripartite Committee but after listening to this brilliant interview today, given excellently by Epic Radio 99.3 FM in which a brilliant ambassador laid out all the issues brilliantly to an exceptionally good interviewer , I want to assure everybody that if there are no sellouts down the line, something good is coming for Sierra Leone in the line of politics and elections in the country through this Tripartite Committee.
Nothing thrilled me more than the ambassador saying that , apart from electoral, there will also be legal and legislative reforms to be taken and that the people of Sierra Leone and what they want will be chief considerations in the conclusions of the committee . Also, Konneh, the elections thief and the Elections Commission will definitely be roped in and it does not seem like Konneh will be able to escape the process . A smelly can of worms is on the way to being opened. I can’t stop rubbing my palms in anticipation.
Parliament may also be forced to revist and re-enact electoral laws and processes they passed under this criminal SLPP Government that made it easier for the criminality during the elections to happen, based on what the ambassador said. Again, APC members in Parliament may have to be resolute and stand firm and not allow Abass Bundu and Maada Bio to bribe and buy them over .
The 2023 elections are not over yet, after all. If the APC stick to their guns and Sierra Leoneans take ownership of this process ,as the ambassador too seems to be wishing, I can see a lot of things we must not preempt happening. It also depends on the resolve of the APC and the people . This is no time for “odoryor ” by the opposition and hypocrisy and unseriousness by our stoic populance. This is a golden opportunity that must not be missed.
Listening keenly to Ambassador Hunt, I can now understand why a lot of my compatriots are putting hopes on this Tripartite Committee and even shrugging off plans for any chaos now to give the committee time to do its work. If everything the ambassador is saying will come true, there is no reason for revolt now .
Even the Millennium Challenge Corporation ( MCC ) U.S .$500 million Compact issue was satisfactorily explained by Ambassador Hunt. Yes, some progress is being made but it is a long road yet. The ambassador made it very clear . Far- reaching progress has to be achieved with implementation of the recommendations to be put forward and satisfaction that Sierra Leone is on a different trajectory with regards to politics and elections in the country before that money will be given.
So, looking at it, the destiny of our nation right now is in the hands of the APC and the people. APC must not compromise anything and must put the National interest above selfish presidential ambitions for 2028,because any radical reform got from this Tripartite Committee will stop anybody in future from performing the criminal rigging of elections as done by Maada Bio last year. APC committee members, I repeat, must put the nation first and not bend down their resolve because they have presidential ambitions for 2028 that they might not even achieve, if things remain the same.
I also think if America is really serious about bringing political and electoral reforms that will bring peace and stability to Sierra Leone once and for all, they must keep Ambassador Bryan Hunt in Sierra Leone for a long while. When his tour of duty expires, we plead that it be renewed . We need Ambassador Hunt in Sierra Leone. He is a big time honest and impact diplomat . He is already the toast of patriotic Sierra Leoneans.
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