SIERRA LEONE: Corruption fight and the June 24 elections

By: Naomi Tappia

The die has been cast for the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone (ECSL) to conduct the upcoming multi-tier elections under the District Block Proportional Representation System, as reported by the local Calabash Newspaper in its February 1, 2023 edition.

The country’s Supreme Court declared President Julius Maada Bio’s elections directive as constitutional and lawful, and only a judicial review can challenge this ruling.

However, the opposition All People’s Congress (APC) should be aware that this ruling is yet another example of the judiciary doing the bidding of the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), similar to the unconstitutional removal of 10 opposition MPs from Parliament and the nullification of the petition against the election of President Bio in 2018.

The political discourse in the coming elections will not be focused on political parties, but rather on the character of the candidates (particularly the presidential candidates) and the SLPP’s failure to fulfill key 2018 election promises related to national cohesion and security, the fight against corruption, and the cost of living.

Other contentious issues, such as the erratic supply of electricity, the incompletion of the three-hundred-bed hospitals inherited from the past administration, the collapsed free healthcare scheme and the national ambulance services, the unfulfilled promise to construct the ‘Lungi bridge’, and a dossier of lies and other unfulfilled promises, in tandem with the strangulation of civil and political liberties, unwarranted killings, and arbitrary arrests and detentions, will also be discussed during the election campaign.

It is clear that the SLPP has failed to deliver on its manifesto promises of inclusive politics and governance, economic growth, and development, as well as promoting national cohesion. Instead, they have deliberately institutionalized regionalism, tribalism, intolerance, and extreme partisanship in the governance of the state. This is more than enough reason for voters to reject the SLPP in the upcoming election.

Moreover, the SLPP has been unable to ensure the efficient political and economic management of the state and its natural resources, leading to uncontrolled inflation and its associated effects on the exchange rate and the cost of basic and essential commodities.

In an attempt to sway voters, the SLPP has resorted to election campaign messages on issues such as the employment of more teachers and nurses, cosmetic development programs, the free education scheme, and the repeal of the seditious libel laws, as well as touting their supposed successes in the fight against corruption. However, these messages are nothing more than a distraction from their abysmal record in office.

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