By: Mohamed Jalloh
Sierra Leone, a West African nation of approximately 8 million people, is scheduled to hold general elections on June 24 2023.With great anticipation for a better life, over 3.4 million Sierra Leoneans who have attained the age 18 years and above have registered to vote. People under 35years comprise nearly 60 percent of the voting-age population. In a country where the median age is 18.5 years, young voters could very well be a decisive factor in the upcoming elections.
Since the return to multi-party democracy in 1996, the forthcoming June 24 2023 elections would be the 5th democratic elections conducted under the vigilant watch of both national and international observers. Within this period, the country has held two transitional elections in 2007 and 2018, where in power has to change hands from the incumbent to the opposition without hell letting loose as is often envisaged by international prying eyes. A feat, and a demonstration of political maturity that has enhanced the democratic credentials of Sierra Leone at the global stage.
To the chagrin of keen international partners who were inured to funding elections in Sierra Leone such as those conducted in 1996,2002,2007 and 2018, a paradigm shift has unfolded by way of sovereignty restoration as we count down to the June 24th general elections. What is different this time is that the government of Sierra Leone is wholly owning up and funding this year`s election. The support of international partners for the June 24th elections only comes in the form of capacity building for ECSL staff, civil society groups(such as Campaign for Good Governance and Centre for Accountability and the Rule of Law) and the security sector. But, other compelling issues such as logistics, elections preparedness, provision of voting paraphernalia, operations, payment of salaries to both permanent and contractual staff of ECSL, lies entirely on the shoulders of ECSL. This is a glowing testament of how the electoral process in Sierra Leone has evolved and is gradually attaining mellowness. The Sierra Leone People`s Party (SLPP) and The All People`s Congress (APC) has dominated the political landscape since independence.
While political power has been transferred through the ballot since the end of the war with the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels in 2002, the pro-activeness of the Political party’s registration Commission (PPRC) has so far yielded dividend by way of preventing political violence in the wake of the elections. The PPRC is utilizing its newly acquired regulatory powers in the 2022 PPRC Act to monitor the activities of political parties.
Unlike many other African states where ethnic differences tend to be the leading cause of election violence, in Sierra Leone, the epicenter of election-related violence tends to be young people who feel alienated and are normally manipulated by selfish politicians for political gains.
The Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone (ECSL) has cleared 9 political parties and their presidential candidates to contest the elections. The two main contenders vying for State House are the incumbent president Julius Maada Bio of the SLPP and Dr Samura Kamara of the main opposition APC. Not surprising however, is the absence of presidential candidates representing NGC and C4C respectively.
This follows Dr Kandeh Yumkella’s decision who came 3rd with 6.86% of total votes in the 2018 presidential elections to join President Bio in an alliance to help SLPP win the elections.
There is also a court injunction that had made it impossible for C4C party that came 4th with 3.46% presidential votes in the previous elections to hold its presidential and parliamentary candidacy elections. Abdullai M. Bangura, chairman of the Political Parties Regulation Commission (PPRC), speaking at a seminar on the state of electoral justice in Sierra Leone in Freetown said that, of the seventeen registered political parties, only 9 including SLPP, APC, and NGC, meet the functionality requirement of the PPRC Act of 2022. In order to be considered functional under the act, parties must hold delegate conferences and elections for national offices and have offices in all regions of the country.
In 2021, after serving as foreign minister in the Ernest Bai Koroma government, the leading opposition contender Samura Kamara was indicted along with five other officials from the Koroma administration for misappropriation of over $2.5 million in public funds. These funds were allocated for the renovation of the Sierra Leone chancery building in New York. However, the trial has been postponed until after the elections. But, in another legal scuttle Paul Kamara former sports minister in the Koroma led government and Hon. Coleson Turay former deputy ambassador to the Unites states has filed a legal suit at the supreme court restraining the presidential candidature of Samura Kamara of the APC until after certain clarifications are been made. In the affidavit filed to the Supreme Court, the two senior APC members are questioning the legitimacy of Samura Kamara to contest in the elections citing the flouting of a high court decision where in processes and procedures were contravened to elect him during the APC convention.
Another bone of contention is the indictment of Samura Kamara in a Commission of Inquiry constituted by the Bio led government to prosecute government officials deemed to have misappropriated government funds in the erstwhile Koroma government.
This particular indictment on Samura Kamara left a spectacle of doubt, complication and intrigue on his ability to contest the June 24th polls with less than a month to the elections. However, the Supreme Court has quashed the matter out of court citing non-compliance with Supreme Court rules and regulations in filing the matter. This has paved the way for Samura Kamara to contest as the presidential candidate for the main opposition APC in the June 24th polls.
In 2018 president Bio began a thorough review and audit of all government contracts, leading to corruption charges against several officials in the previous administration, including Koroma himself, who was accused of, among other things, stealing funds meant for victims of the country’s Ebola outbreak.
Ethnic tensions have bedeviled the country in the past, but it is not as pronounced in Sierra Leone as in other countries. To curb the ethno-regional cleavages, the ruling SLPP enacted a legislation that has changed the electoral configuration from the winner takes all first past the post system to a district block proportional system. According to the ruling SLPP, the objective of the district block proportional system is to eliminate the ethno-regional political representation in the house of legislature and to create a possibility of less nationally entrenched political parties to be represented in parliament. A system widely believed to foster national unity and cohesion as opposed to the simple majority system of representation that has festered political polarization between the two major political parties-the APC and SLPP. The two main political parties, the SLPP (now in power) and the APC (now in opposition) have swapped power peacefully since 1996. However, divides between them have developed that could foment violence and create national instability. Whenever power changes hands, party precincts of losers are often raided and supporters brutalized. The SLPP gets most of its support from the east and south of the country while the APC stronghold is in the north and western part of the country.
In the modern era, Social media is also playing an increasingly important role in shaping African political engagement, and Sierra Leone is no exception. On the one hand, social media has helped develop spaces for political participation. WhatsApp, for example, plays a key role in Sierra Leone as an avenue for smaller political parties and new voters. On the contrary, social media can also be a conduit for disinformation that can be used to incite election-related violence. As in every election tensions can ensue and there can be isolated incidents. However, the fact remains that Sierra Leoneans can never go to war; indications are clear that they have resolved to settle their differences through the ballot box.
After becoming president in 2018, Bio became the first Sierra Leonean president to introduce free education for primary and secondary students in public schools in Sierra Leone. He eliminated application fees for students in public universities, and cancelled a Chinese-funded $400 million loan agreement that had been negotiated by his predecessor to build a new international airport. Instead a new ultra-modern Airport was constructed at Lungi across the Targrin point. Under his leadership, he has constructed plenty roads and bridges aimed at boosting economic viability at national and transnational level. Within five years, the Bio led government received international acclamation by the World Health Organisation for reducing maternal mortality rate by 60%.
If re-elected, president Bio has anchored his people`s manifesto promises on five key thematic areas with agriculture and food security as the main priority. In an abridged version, these are:
1. Feed Salone- an initiative to boost agricultural productivity to ensure food security and inclusive Economic Growth.
2. Human capital Development: Nurturing skills for 21st Century Industry.
3. Youth Employment Scheme (YES): A presidential initiative to create 500,000 jobs for the youths in five years.
4. Revamping the Public Service Architecture through delivery, efficiency and professionalism.
5. Tech and Infrastructure: Pathways for sustained Economic Growth (TIPEG).
However, the main issue of concern to Sierra Leoneans is the economy. The country’s inflation rate in 2018 was over 16 percent, but was brought down to 11 percent by 2021, which was still a staggering rate. The economy grew by 3.2 percent in 2021 after shrinking 2 percent in 2020. A doubling of the prices for goods and services by the end of 2022 due to covid-19 and the Russia/Ukraine war, however, eroded the 2021 gains, leading to an inflation rate of over 26 percent. Even though, the issue of inflation is a global trend as indicated by the International Monetary Fund, president Bio faces a herculean task in the next 5years; if re-elected. He must implement sweeping changes to the country’s economy so as to cushion the effect of the persistent rise of the price of goods and services on the lives of Sierra Leoneans.
