By Sorie I. Kanu
The rancor within the various factions in the main opposition APC party has left a lot of people, both within and without, fumbling about the way forward in the struggle for electoral justice and the restoration of democracy, freedom, and justice in Sierra Leone.
At the apex of all these is the ongoing feud between Dr. Samura Kamara, party leader and flag bearer of the June 2023 elections, and the Executive of his APC party. It is now this blown-out battle between these two new factions that has prolonged, and may even have the tendency to completely ground, the quest for electoral justice.
What baffles me and perhaps many other Sierra Leoneans, including the international Community is the premature, or rather hasty, decision of the party to invoke Section 47 of its new constitution that requires the party leader to step aside after six months following losing an election. While this constitutional provision may have its merits, its implementation by the ranks and files of the party executive may also provoke a debate on the constitutionality or otherwise of forcing, as it looks like, Dr. Samura Kamara to step down in the midst of an ongoing electoral struggle. Many would therefore like to ponder whether the decision of the executive was prudent enough at this material time, especially so at a time that Sierra Leoneans have entrusted their hopes to the APC in the quest for electoral justice following the seemingly inconclusive June 23, 2024 Elections.
The debate is further fueled by the fact that the publicity secretary of the party has made statements on several occasions that have gone viral on both the traditional and new media that Dr. Samura Kamara is no longer the leader of the APC. Most recently, in response to a letter from the party flag bearer, the secretary general of the party also deviated and ignored his letter, only to ask for an office key. That indeed appeared to have not only trivialized the campaign for electoral justice but further raised eyebrows on the commitment of the APC to the people’s quest for a thorough investigation into the conduct of the June 24 2023 elections.
If the APC mouthpiece made this statement with reference to the party’s constitution, himself and the rest of his members of the executive have gravely missed the point as the same constitution, under the existing circumstances surrounding the 2023 Elections, demands, and for the purpose of common sense, that Samura Kamara is still the undisputable Flag Bearer of the APC.
Furthermore, the actions of APC, as a party, to refuse to accept the results of the election, as of date, implies that Samura Kamara did not lose the 2023 elections, an election that is still being considered an issue within the pretext of a Joint Communique and a pending implementation of the subsequent Tripartite Committee Recommendations.
It is also a fact that senior executive officers of the APC have, on several occasions, been over the media condemning the ECSL for not providing the requisite electoral data and also refusing to accept the results as announced. This stance of the party was also corroborated by both local and international election observers who declared the elections flawed and described the results as statistically inaccurate.
In addition to these developments, the APC has also made its position very clear in the Report of the Tripartite Committee that, in fact, Dr. Samura Kamara won the election by 57%. If that is the case, how come the same party is now asking Dr. Samura Kamara to step down based on election results that party leadership itself had disputed? This is again compounded by the fact that a very senior diplomat was very recently on the media claiming that neither the ECSL nor the political parties have so far been able to provide sufficient evidence of the results of the June 23 elections. Surprisingly though, since the statement of that diplomat, neither the ECSL nor any political party, including both the ruling SLPP and main opposition APC, has come out to challenge that statement. This continues to send a clear message to all Sierra Leoneans and the international community that indeed the June 24, 2023, election lacked the elements of transparency and credibility as required by international best practices.
Taking the above into consideration, it is very evident that either the executive is losing focus on the vital issue of the day, the fight for electoral justice, or it has simply become inept in fully comprehending the provisions of the APC Constitution as well as the recommendations of the Tripartite Committee.
Be that as it may, it is still believed by many Sierra Leoneans, especially the voters, that the 2023 elections are yet inconclusive and that Dr. Samura Kamara is the lead person in the quest for electoral justice both within and outside Sierra Leone. Any attempt therefore by the party or any other person or groups of persons to marginalize him is certainly premature and has the tendency, by all indications, to undermine the hopes and aspirations of Sierra Leoneans regarding the outcome of the June 24, 2023 elections, as well as thwart the role of the international community in that respect.
It is therefore important for the folks in the APC undermining the people’s resolve in the fight for electoral justice to understand the fact that Maada Bio is still only president of Sierra Leone, not because he won the said elections but precisely because he was and still is the incumbent, as the constitution of Sierra Leone does not provide any vacuum for that office. It is in this respect that Dr. Samura Kamara and any other Sierra Leonean address Maada Bio as president. Hence the argument that the APC Flag Bearer conceded to having lost by using the term President in addressing Maada Bio has no substance at all.
Besides the fact that neither ECSL nor the political parties could provide adequate evidence of results, it means that the June 24, 2023, election was just a sham and not an election in the strictest sense of the term. In that respect, such an election could not therefore be used to invoke Section 47 of the APC Constitution at this particular point in time. Sierra Leoneans, in this vein, still consider Samura Kamara, as Flag bearer of the APC in that elections and will continue to rally behind him in full support of his determined efforts to bring about sanity in our electoral processes for the June 24 elections and any other elections for the sake of posterity.
As the feud between the two continues, the APC Executive is invariably exposing itself to the public as betraying the people’s trust in abandoning the fight against electoral injustices. This has inevitably increased the popularity of Dr. Samura Kamara, who is now obviously perceived as the savior of the people in their quest for electoral justice and the restoration of democracy, freedom, and justice in Sierra Leone. He is now the beacon of hope to this nation, and the majority of Sierra Leoneans will continue to give their unflinching support to his call to ensure that the people’s votes in the June 24, 2023, elections are adequately accounted for. If the APC Executive thinks otherwise, then they are certainly standing in the way of the public and will pay dearly for that in any subsequent ballot in this country.
