By Sorie Ibrahim Fofanah
The Executive Secretary of the Independent Commission for Peace and National Cohesion, Hawa Samai has confirmed that President Julius Maada Bio won't overturn recommendations that the Tripartite Committee might come up with at the end of its work.
Samai made this confirmation at the government’s weekly press briefing hosted at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 4th June 2024 while updating the media about the mandates of the Tripartite Committee.
She maintained that the president “believes” in whatever the committee may come up with, adding he will not engage in any conflict of interest regarding the work of the committee. ”At the conclusion of the tripartite, I believe the President won't overturn the decision of the committee,” she emphasized.
The peace commission boss also confirmed that the committee does not have the mandate to indict anyone; a function which she said is for the judiciary. She also pointed out that the work of the committee will not go against the national constitution of Sierra Leone.
The committee she however noted is to review processes in the 2023 elections and other past elections that she said would enhance the credibility of all future elections in Sierra Leone.
The committee composition she added is made up of seven representatives each from the government, the opposition, and international partners, but they all are aware of their terms of reference.
Samai spoke of how the committee held consultations with various stakeholders across the country ranging from local authorities, the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL), and the judiciary, among others.
Samai recalled how All People’s Congress (APC) had recommended during the peace dialogue with the government at Bintumani for projectors to be used while tallying future election results as one of the ways to reform our electoral laws.
She added that APC had also submitted over 300 names of their members who they said should be freed from prison and that a separate committee has been set up to review the categories of cases of such persons, which was one of the resolutions during the peace dialogue.
“The mandate of the Peace Commission is to ensure there is peace and cohesion in the country,” Samia said. She pointed out that Sierra Leone is the third most peaceful country in Africa according to the Global Peace Index, and discouraged the act of people sending bad information about the country.
In his statement, Executive Director of the Institute for Governance Reform, Andrew Lavali praised the setting up of the tripartite committee, saying it is "in place" for the democracy of the country, and that it would bring satisfaction to all parties aggrieved. “It will allow us to look at all past elections and make recommendations," he noted.
He described the 2022 Elections Act as the most responsive electoral law.
Speaking on the position of IGR, he said the Police and the judiciary must be accountable; a decentralization of resources, and enforcement of the Proportional Representative System among others.
He claimed that the 1996, 2007, 2012, 2018, and 2023 elections all had issues, and believes the tripartite committee will address all those issues.
Following the announcement of the June 2023 elections, APC challenged the results saying they were flawed. The party initially boycotted any participation in governance until the matter was successfully resolved by international partners.
The tripartite committee was then formed to address election irregularities over the years by coming up with recommendations.
Copyright © 2024 Politico (07/06/24)
