By Politico staff writer
The Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone (ECSL) has approved the nominations of the two main Presidential Challengers in the June 24 2023 General Elections; incumbent President Julius Maada Bio and Dr. Samura Mathew Wilson Kamara.
Dr. Kamara of the main opposition All Peoples Congress (APC) Party and his running mate Chernor Maju Bah were the first on the roster of the commission to be subjected to its mandatory procedures on May 1.
In his statement, he assured the commission of his party’s commitment to ensuring a peaceful and unified country, though he raised concerns about the conduct of the Police as his entourage and supporters were approaching the road leading to the ECSL office. He claimed the Police fired teargas.
But the APC flagbearer was reminded that his delegation allowed to enter the precincts of the commission as per regulation, should not exceed 20.
Chief Electoral Commissioner, Mohamed Konneh re-affirmed the commission’s commitment to ensuring a free and fair electioneering process, confirming to the media that he had signed the provisional acceptance nomination documents of the two APC leaders.
Also at the ECSL yesterday May 2, accompanied by Vice President Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, and the First Lady, Madam Fatima Bio, President Julius Maada Bio like his contender, had all his documents and those of Dr. Juldeh Jalloh ( his running mate), certified by the commission officials, as per protocol.
President Bio speaking to the media afterward said the people are better- placed to judge him on what he has done so far during his first term and he is facing them with confidence that he is going to win the election.
Responding to the issue of his party’s alliance with the National Grand Coalition (NGC), of Dr. Kandeh Kolleh Yumkella, President Bio said he is reaching out to all those that are ‘progressives’ right across the board including the APC, ‘’people who put the nation first so that we can work for the unity and development of this nation’’.
He said he is looking forward to taking Sierra Leone into the fourth industrial revolution.
He said the likes of former Vice President, Victor Bockarie Foh, and former cabinet Minister Alpha Kanu both of the APC joining the SLPP was a sign that the country will be having peaceful elections.
On the harsh economic realities on the ground, the President said: “ This is what I will say to Sierra Leoneans, the economy is tough, I can understand your pain, and things are expensive but I want to say it is not only in Sierra Leone. The world is going through turbulent times and we are an integral part of the world and we cannot escape this’’.
However, he said as a government, they have done everything to cushion the effects of this global economic meltdown, something he claimed bigger nations have not been able to do. He said his government has removed taxes to ease the economic burden on the populace which he linked to the COVID-19 pandemic that affected the supply chain, and the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war that he said had compounded the problem even more.
The president said he would want to tell Sierra Leoneans that when he came in, he inherited a very bad economy, one that was characterized by corruption, a low growth rate, and poor fiscal management, and the nation was considered one of the most corrupt countries in the world.
He said a year later, they had almost reduced inflation to a single digit and that financial management was so good, that they were able to launch the Free Quality Education in less than a year, from the loopholes that they were able to close.
“We were able to go back to the IMF with a programme which had shunned us and left this country because of the same corruption. And before the APC left, they had already stated we were in austerity as a nation. That was what I inherited with nothing in the coffers’’, he explained.
He spoke of improved health care, progress in the fight against graft, and human capital development as some of his government’s key achievements, and promised to take agriculture and food security as a main priority if elected for a second term.
On whether he’s been apprehensive to face Dr. Kamara for a second time, he brushed that aside saying he is going to the polls with confidence.
Other mostly smaller political parties will also file in their nomination papers and presidential candidates in the coming days.
This year’s June 24 elections will be conducted using the Proportional Representation system.
Copyright © 2023 Politico (03/05/23)
