Fight Against Impunity In the Gambia

Sierra Leone:SLPP REVERSES DECISION

(By Aroun Rashid Deen NYC)

The only opposition party in Sierra Leone, the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), has reversed its decision that had ordered its lawmakers and local councilors to “stay away” from parliamentary and council proceedings.

The decision to reverse the call for a boycott was announced Thursday, December 6, following a meeting earlier in the week at State House between President Koroma and leaders of the SLPP, including Mr. Julius Bio, the party’s presidential candidate for the November 17, 2012, elections. An umbrella body of different denominations of the Christian faith, in Sierra Leone, the Body of Christ, had facilitated the meeting between the two groups in an effort to bring an end to what was becoming a political stalemate. The announcement on Thursday came about a week before the official opening of the new Parliament in the capital, Freetown, following national elections on November 17.

The party, on Tuesday, November 27, 2012, ordered the boycott, days after incumbent President, Ernest Koroma of the All People’s Congress (APC) Party, was declared the winner of the Presidential race. The SLPP had alleged election malpractices by the APC, despite an existing wide consensus among international observers that the elections were well conducted. The party had called on its deputies to stay away as a means of protest and also called for an external review of the whole electoral process. 42 SLPP MPs were elected in the poll.

SLPP’s National Secretary General, Suliaman Banja Tejan-Sie, who announced the party’s decision to rescind the planned boycott, said that in light of what he called government’s “commitment and assurance to address” their concerns, the party’s executive “direct its Members of Parliament, Mayors and Chairpersons and Councilors to take part in all Parliamentary and Local Council proceedings unless otherwise directed.”

Sources from Freetown suggest that elements within the leadership of the SLPP prevailed on the party to reconsider its stance and respond to the mediation efforts undertaken by the Body of Christ. Speculation was rife as to what was discussed when Mr. Bio and the President met privately, and rumors fueled both by the public, and the national press still persist.

This writer had argued a week ago, that the call for the boycott had little chance to hold. More so because the conduct of the election was deemed to have met internationally acceptable standards and the results recognized globally. Moreover, SLPP MPs, particularly first-timers, were, understandably, eager to get to work, as evident on Wednesday, December 5, when SLPP representatives attended a briefing session at Parliament Building, in Freetown.

The SLPP’s reversal of its call for a boycott will provide some welcome relief to the APC. Given the ruling party’s sweep in the Presidential and Parliamentary contests, it would be hard to ignore the chilling effect such a boycott would have on governance if not the entire democratic process.

One can speculate for a moment as to what next move by the SLPP will be. Certainly, the party will soon go back to the drawing board to evaluate its election’s strategies and its performance in this year’s elections, followed by what is likely to be early preparations for the next race in 2017.

It is perhaps too early to speculate meaningfully about the likely SLPP contestants for the party’s presidential ticket in 2017.  Clearly, Mr. Bio cannot be ruled out as a possibility. The 48-year-old would still be in his prime and would have presumably built upon the experience gained from the 2012 race.

For the APC, 2017 may prove to be more challenging. The likable and politically savvy Ernest Koroma will step down after completing his second term. Besides, the APC will likely find some difficulty selecting from among its crop of current leaders a natural successor or at least someone whose record  can match the President’s accomplishments after serving two terms in office.

Sierra Leone opposition party calls on lawmakers to boycott Parliament

By Aroun Rashid Deen


The Sierra Leone People’s Party, whose candidate, Julius Maada Bio, came
in a distant second to the incumbent President in a crowded field in the
just-concluded Sierra Leone presidential election, has called on its members
of parliament and other elected officials, to “stay away” from
parliamentary and all other local council proceedings.

A statement from the party’s secretariat issued Tuesday, just four days
after the National Electoral Commission NEC of Sierra Leone declared
incumbent President Ernest Koroma, of the All People’s Congress, the
winner of the presidential election held on November 17, stated that its
National Executive Committee strongly “condemns the refusal of the
National Electoral Commission (NEC) to address the electoral irregularities
including fake and unstamped Reconciliation and Result Forms, pre-marked
ballot papers, ballot stuffing and over-voting in Kono, the Western Area and
the Northern Province and more other instances of malpractices which
undermined the credibility of the results.” The party had hinted - just a
day after the result was announced - that it was going to contest the
presidential result, claiming electoral wrongdoings.

The SLPP national and local lawmakers are among the hundreds also elected
during the November 17 polling. Although the party has also – in a
separate statement - indicated that the elected officials have reaffirmed
their firm commitment to the resolution to stay away, pundits speculate that
few of them will adhere to their party’s call for the boycott. And if they
do, it will not be for long. Among them are first-timers, some of whom,
notwithstanding the party’s position regarding the results declared by the
NEC, are anxious to take up their seats for which they had worked hard, if
not to begin serving their constituents.

The call to stay away from parliamentary and other council proceedings may
be a signal that the SLPP is running out of options or strategies to reverse
the election result. In its press release, the party prevailed on the
international community to consider its claims of election fraud, demanding
“an independent international assessment” of the whole election process
involved, including the presidential result.

It is not clear which sector of the international community the SLPP wants
to intervene, since key players and leading decision makers in world
affairs, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Russia, the
United Nations, the European Union ECOWAS, the West African regional bloc
and the African Union, among others, have all recognized the election of
President Koroma. They have done so by way of statements of approval of the
election process and congratulatory messages to Koroma.

However, a reliable source from Freetown has indicated that frenetic
diplomatic efforts, led by the United Nations, are under way to bring
together President Ernest Bai Koroma and Julius Maada Bio, to find a
resolution to the SLPP’s alleged election fraud. It is not known what, if
anything, Mr. Bio would gain out of it, following his dismal performance,
other than to be coaxed to accept the election result. Representatives of
the two groups are to meet in Freetown shortly.

Further, in its press release, the party demanded the “unconditional
release” from police custody, those of its members and supporters who are
still being held. And in what it described as in the spirit of
reconciliation, the SLPP called on the government to “nolle prosequi all
pending political matters in our local courts.” It did not specify the
political matters in question nor indicate how the request is related to the
allegations of electoral fraud and irregularities.
Nolle prosequi is a term used in the context of the legal profession. It
means that either a prosecutor or plaintiff in a legal matter already in
proceeding has declared that he or she will not proceed any further.

Aroun Rashid Deen is a freelance journalist. He lives in New York City
646 645-1857

Sierra Leone Elections- U.S Congratulates Earnest Bai Koroma

(By Aroun Rashid Deen)

The United States government has congratulated Sierra Leone's President
Ernest Bai Koroma, following his reelection, noting the democratic progress
the country has made since the end of a civil war a decade. President Koroma
was re-elected to serve another five-year term in the West African nation.
White House spokesman, Jay Carney said in a statement: "The people of Sierra
Leone have made their voices heard."
Mr. Koroma of the ruling All People’s Congress, APC, was Saturday declared
the winner by the chairperson of the National Electoral Commission (NEC),
Christiana Thorpe, a week after voting on November 17th. The President
secured 58.7% of votes to defeat and avoid a run-off with his closest rival,
Julius Maada Bio, of the Sierra Leone People’s Party, SLPP. Bio got a mere
37.4% of votes during the November 17 polling. In Sierra Leone, the winning
candidate for the presidency must secure at least 55% of votes cast to avoid
a run-off. The election also included voting for parliamentary seats and
local council offices. Some 87.3% of the country’s electorate voted,
making it one of the highest recorded in the country’s national election
history.
The election itself was conducted peacefully, amid concerns about violence
due to heightened pre-election rhetoric, including sharp attacks on the
records of particularly Koroma and Bio, and incidents of violence in the
weeks preceding polling. Aside from the congratulatory statement from the
United States Government, international and local observers have described
the election as meeting the internationally-recognized threshold for
democratic elections.
UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon, in a statement, commended the high voter
turnout and the remarkable calm displayed by the electorates during voting.
He maintained that that was a clear manifestation of Sierra Leoneans’
“desire for peace, democracy and development.”
The Head of the EU observer mission, Richard Howitt, in an earlier briefing,
said the election on Saturday, November 17, was well organized, smooth,
conducive to democratic consolidation and largely peaceful, though he
expressed concerns over what he regarded as financial bribery of paramount
chiefs by the APC. Paramount chiefs are traditional leaders who head their
various chiefdoms throughout the country. They maintain enormous influence
over their chiefdom subjects. Paramount Chiefs are supposed to remain
neutral during electioneering. The APC denied the allegation.
Another international observer group, the US-based Carter Center, in its
preliminary reports described the election process as peaceful, orderly,
transparent, and in general accordance with Sierra Leone’s legal framework
and obligations for democratic elections. Though the group raised concerns
over what it called some limited administrative shortcomings, it said that
NEC officials “performed admirably in difficult conditions, and that the
people of Sierra Leone turned out in high numbers to cast their ballots
freely.”
The West African regional bloc, the Economic Community of West African
States (ECOWAS) also gave its stamp of approval to the election. It
described it as well conducted, and that the few isolated incidents of
irregularities do not affect the credibility of the entire process.
At the national level, the Political Parties Registration Commission (PPRC),
a group set up to monitor the activities of all registered parties for the
elections, commended the performances of both the parties and NEC for their
role during and after the November 17 poll. Its chairman, Justice Tolla
Thompson, said political parties conducted their affairs in a peaceful and
lawful matter that respected the Code of Conduct for Political Parties.
Nonetheless, Koroma’s main rival, Bio, and his SLPP party – prior to the
NEC’s announcement – had expressed concerns over what they saw as
wide-scale fraud by the APC in several polling centers in the northern
andwestern regions, and in the diamond-rich Kono, home to Vice President Sam
Sumana which is in the eastern region of the country.
NEC disputed much of the SLPP claims of fraud. Thorpe, in an earlier
statement suggested that evidence of such claims should be reported to the
police.
The SLPP has meanwhile indicated it intends to contest the results announced
by the NEC and Koroma’s re-election. In a radio broadcast, a day after the
result was announced, Mr. Bio alleged “electoral irregularities including
fake and unstamped Reconciliation and Result Forms, pre-marked ballot
papers, ballot stuffing and over-voting in Kono the Western Area and the
Northern Province....” He promised his party will soon contact members and
supporters on their official line of action. They can challenge the validity
of the election of the President by petitioning the Supreme Court of Sierra
Leone, but must do so within seven days following the NEC’s declaration.
President Koroma took the oath of office just hours after he was declared
the winner. He appealed for calm. He promised to work in the interest of all
Sierra Leone regardless of party affiliations. He also called on his former
opponents to join him “in moving the country forward.”
Umaru Fofana, a Sierra Leonean reporter for the BBC, and head of one of the
nation’s independent newspapers, Politico, said it appears the
President’s call for calm is being heeded. Fofana who drove around the
central and west end of Freetown after the announcement reported relatively
subdued celebrations in those areas. Freetown was one of the strongholds of
President Koroma.
With Bio being a former leader of the National Provisional Ruling Council
(NPRC) military junta that overthrew the APC from power in 1992, the APC was
more than determined not to have him unseat them from power again. With some
former members of the NPRC now members of the APC, Bio took the brunt of the
APC’s loathing of the junta he previously headed.
The dismal performance of the SLPP in this year’s elections stemmed from a
number of factors, chief of which were poor organization and leadership
going back to the start of their search for a possible presidential ticket.
Some, even within the hierarchy of the party believe Maada Bio was the wrong
choice at this time. The party has also been hampered with divisions within
its ranks, with some of its members, including some who vied for the
presidential nomination, jumping ship to the APC.
Bio’s poor performance has been the worst by the SLPP since 1996, when the
country was returned to democratic rule. It was Maada Bio himself, who, as
outgoing junta ruler, ushered in the Ahmad Tejan Kabbah-led SLPP government
that won the presidency that year. Tejan Kabbah secured 59.49% to beat his
run-off rival, John Karefa-Smart of the United National People’s Party.
Over 50% of the electorate voted in that election.
Kabbah was reelected in 2002 with a landslide of more than 70% of the votes,
beating then APC challenger, Ernest Koroma. Koroma quickly conceded defeat.
Five years later, in 2007, Ernest Koroma defeated then SLPP Vice President,
Solomon Berewa, 54.6% to 45.4%. Berewa, too, conceded defeat.
This year’s election was the third since the end of the country’s civil
war. However, it was the first organized by the country itself without the
help of the United Nations. The first two – conducted by the United
Nations – were held in 2002 and 2007 respectively. The admirable
performance of the electorate on November 17 was a reflection of what
happened in 2002 and 2007.
SLPP supporters are sure to grieve their loss. However, despite the tense
campaign bickering and acrimony that defined pre-election relations between
some of the supporters of both parties, the drive for national unity, peace
and progress is deep-seated in the cultural psyche of the ordinary citizen
in present-day Sierra Leone. One ardent SLPP supporter here in the United
States, Alimamy Rassin Kamara, in his courageous response to Koroma’s
wins, says: “We owe it to our country and the people to accept the results
for what they are and conduct ourselves in the most peaceful and law-abiding
way.”
It is expected that those feelings of despondency, and elation, on the part
of the winning side, will soon give way to one that puts the collective
interests of the nation above all else.

Aroun Rashid Deen is a freelance journalist. He lives in New York City
646 645-1857

SIERRA LEONE REELECT PRESIDENT KOROMA

(By Aroun Rashid Deen)
Sierra Leone’s incumbent President, Ernest Bai Koroma, has been re-elected
to serve another five-year term in the small West African nation. Mr. Koroma
of the ruling All People’s Congress, APC, was Saturday declared the winner
by the chairperson of the National Electoral Commission (NEC), Christiana
Thorpe, a week after voting on November 17th. The President secured 58.7% of
votes to defeat and avoid a run-off with his closest rival, Julius Maada
Bio, of the Sierra Leone People’s Party, SLPP. Bio got a mere 37.4% of
votes during the November 17 polling. In Sierra Leone, the winning candidate
for the presidency must secure at least 55% of votes cast to avoid a
run-off. The election also included voting for parliamentary seats and local
council offices. Some 87.3% of the country’s electorate voted, making it
one of the highest recorded in the country’s national election history.
The election itself was conducted peacefully, amid concerns about violence
due to heightened pre-election rhetoric, including sharp attacks on the
records of particularly Koroma and Bio, and incidents of violence in the
weeks preceding polling. International and local observers have described
the election as meeting the internationally-recognized threshold for
democratic elections.
UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon, in a statement, commended the high voter
turnout and the remarkable calm displayed by the electorates during voting.
He maintained that that was a clear manifestation of Sierra Leoneans’
“desire for peace, democracy and development.”
The Head of the EU observer mission, Richard Howitt, in an earlier briefing,
said the election on Saturday, November 17, was well organized, smooth,
conducive to democratic consolidation and largely peaceful, though he
expressed concerns over what he regarded as financial bribery of paramount
chiefs by the APC. Paramount chiefs are traditional leaders who head their
various chiefdoms throughout the country. They maintain enormous influence
over their chiefdom subjects. Paramount Chiefs are supposed to remain
neutral during electioneering. The APC denied the allegation.
Another international observer group, the US-based Carter Center, in its
preliminary reports described the election process as peaceful, orderly,
transparent, and in general accordance with Sierra Leone’s legal framework
and obligations for democratic elections. Though the group raised concerns
over what it called some limited administrative shortcomings, it said that
NEC officials “performed admirably in difficult conditions, and that the
people of Sierra Leone turned out in high numbers to cast their ballots
freely.”
The West African regional bloc, the Economic Community of West African
States (ECOWAS) also gave its stamp of approval to the election. It
described it as well conducted, and that the few isolated incidents of
irregularities do not affect the credibility of the entire process.
At the national level, the Political Parties Registration Commission (PPRC),
a group set up to monitor the activities of all registered parties for the
elections, commended the performances of both the parties and NEC for their
role during and after the November 17 poll. Its chairman, Justice Tolla
Thompson, said political parties conducted their affairs in a peaceful and
lawful matter that respected the Code of Conduct for Political Parties.
Nonetheless, Koroma’s main rival, Bio, and his SLPP party – prior to the
NEC’s announcement – had expressed concerns over what they saw as
wide-scale fraud by the APC in several polling centers in the northern and
western regions, and in the diamond-rich Kono, home to Vice President Sam
Sumana which is in the eastern region of the country.
NEC disputed much of the SLPP claims of fraud. Thorpe, in an earlier
statement suggested that evidence of such claims should be reported to the
police.
The SLPP has meanwhile indicated it intends to contest the results announced
by the NEC and Koroma’s re-election. In a radio broadcast, a day after the
result was announced, Mr. Bio alleged “electoral irregularities including
fake and unstamped Reconciliation and Result Forms, pre-marked ballot
papers, ballot stuffing and over-voting in Kono the Western Area and the
Northern Province....” He promised his party will soon contact members and
supporters on their official line of action. They can challenge the validity
of the election of the President by petitioning the Supreme Court of Sierra
Leone, but must do so within seven days following the NEC’s declaration.
President Koroma took the oath of office just hours after he was declared
the winner. He appealed for calm. He promised to work in the interest of all
Sierra Leone regardless of party affiliations. He also called on his former
opponents to join him “in moving the country forward.”
Umaru Fofana, a Sierra Leonean reporter for the BBC, and head of one of the
nation’s independent newspapers, Politico, said it appears the
President’s call for calm is being heeded. Fofana who drove around the
central and west end of Freetown after the announcement reported relatively
subdued celebrations in those areas. Freetown was one of the strongholds of
President Koroma.
With Bio being a former leader of the National Provisional Ruling Council
(NPRC) military junta that overthrew the APC from power in 1992, the APC was
more than determined not to have him unseat them from power again. With some
former members of the NPRC now members of the APC, Bio took the brunt of the
APC’s loathing of the junta he previously headed.
The dismal performance of the SLPP in this year’s elections stemmed from a
number of factors, chief of which were poor organization and leadership
going back to the start of their search for a possible presidential ticket.
Some, even within the hierarchy of the party believe Maada Bio was the wrong
choice at this time. The party has also been hampered with divisions within
its ranks, with some of its members, including some who vied for the
presidential nomination, jumping ship to the APC.
Bio’s poor performance has been the worst by the SLPP since 1996, when the
country was returned to democratic rule. It was Maada Bio himself, who, as
outgoing junta ruler, ushered in the Ahmad Tejan Kabbah-led SLPP government
that won the presidency that year. Tejan Kabbah secured 59.49% to beat his
run-off rival, John Karefa-Smart of the United National People’s Party.
Over 50% of the electorate voted in that election.
Kabbah was reelected in 2002 with a landslide of more than 70% of the votes,
beating then APC challenger, Ernest Koroma. Koroma quickly conceded defeat.
Five years later, in 2007, Ernest Koroma defeated then SLPP Vice President,
Solomon Berewa, 54.6% to 45.4%. Berewa, too, conceded defeat.
This year’s election was the third since the end of the country’s civil
war. However, it was the first organized by the country itself without the
help of the United Nations. The first two – conducted by the United
Nations – were held in 2002 and 2007 respectively. The admirable
performance of the electorate on November 17 was a reflection of what
happened in 2002 and 2007.
SLPP supporters are sure to grieve their loss. However, despite the tense
campaign bickering and acrimony that defined pre-election relations between
some of the supporters of both parties, the drive for national unity, peace
and progress is deep-seated in the cultural psyche of the ordinary citizen
in present-day Sierra Leone. One ardent SLPP supporter here in the United
States, Alimamy Rassin Kamara, in his courageous response to Koroma’s
wins, says: “We owe it to our country and the people to accept the results
for what they are and conduct ourselves in the most peaceful and law-abiding
way.”
It is expected that those feelings of despondency and elation, on the part
of the winning side, will soon give way to one that puts the collective
interests of the nation above all else.

Aroun Rashid Deen is a freelance journalist. He lives in New York City
646 645-1857