By: Ilyasa Baa
The Chief Commissioner of the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL), charged with the responsibility to conduct free and fair 2023 elections and announce the winner of the highest office, has said there is no fixed date for the announcement of Presidential results.
Mohamed Kanneh has allayed the fears of members of the public and international observers that the elections are being handled professionally going through the provisions of the Elections Act of 2022 which he said is the working document the Commission has to go by strictly.
He made this disclosure, this week, during the 9th session of the Multi-Stakeholders Election Steering Committee meeting which involved the Elections Management body including the Political Parties Regulation Commission (PPRC) and the Sierra Leone Police.
Mohamed Konneh said the Commission has tried as much as possible to address concerns raised by the main opposition All People’s Congress (APC) through constructive engagement with the party executives. He noted that the Commission will use both online and offline methods to collate the results before the final announcement is made as to who wins the presidential election.
” It involves a process before reaching the final stage which is the announcement of results by the Chief Electoral Officer”, Konneh briefed the gathering.
Chairing the high-power meeting was the Chief Minister, Jacob Jusu Saffa who did not mince his words assuring them that the State has made the resources available for the conduct of smooth elections on June 24th. He said the government is going to ensure the elections go on smoothly devoid of violence.
According to the Minister of Finance, Fantamadi Bangura, 85% of the money needed for the elections has been provided by the government of Sierra Leone. He has assured that the remaining 15% will be leashed on the Commission in early June.