*09.07.23*
We as members of the APC have decided to boycott all governance activities in Sierra Leone until all our demands are fully met. We are sure everyone has seen the agreement we signed to the effect. Elections are held to allow people to make decisions in terms of who steers the affairs of the state. When those processes are marred by lack of credibility and transparency then you start asking yourself why were people’s money spent to support individual agendas.
It’s easy for someone to ask us to move on. But knowing the implications of moving on means we have to tackle the issues as they exist. We waited five years in opposition because elections were our hopes as believers of democracy. If we get robbed at the end of the day, then there shouldn’t be a turning back in nipping rogue practices in the bud.
When the mayoral results were announced, Gento said the results were “skewed”. We were surprised by his description, knowing that he was favoured, but all of the attempts to make him win the elections were impossible. However, his assertion resonates with what we have been saying. Even though we don’t count it as a point in our argument. At least one member of the SLPP openly confessed to decried the system.
Those who are planning to mediate should go into that carefully ironing the wrong where it exists rather than taking the ancient approach of asking people to move on when we all could do better. We fought hard for our Democracy, so we should not allow practices that don’t mean well for it to be swept under the rug. If this is the storyline, then we ourselves are responsible. As other countries get applauded for their adherence to the practice, let us not find ourselves on the opposite side of things. Those who destroy probably don’t know how difficult it is to build, so it’s crucial for us to be here to preserve what was built in struggle.
We’ll also want to caution those who tend to downplay the issue. The international community contributes to everything we do as a country, so if they are expressing concerns regarding a threat to our democracy, they are not overstepping their bounds. And if there are any individuals in Sierra Leone’s political landscape who may have been oblivious to the role of foreign relations in putting an end to our decade-long war, then they should quit politics and national conversations.
The National Elections Watch continues to show how flawed our results are. We challenge you now to prove them wrong.
The message to ECSL is Simple. Show some transparency. Account for the elections you’ve conducted and we’ll be fine.
©️Yusuf Kanu
*APC Birmingham*
