By Saio Marrah
Former Presidential Candidate of the main opposition, All People’s Congress (APC) party, Dr Samura Mathew Wilson Kamara has at the end of the Dialogue between his political party and the Government of Sierra Leone to end a post-election dispute, described the outcome as a win-win for all.
The mediation effort was facilitated by the Commonwealth, African Union, and ECOWAS from 16th to 18th October 2023, at the Bintumani Hotel in Freetown.
Dr. Kamara, team lead of the APC at the end of the talks said nobody won and nobody lost. “We are all winners, Sierra Leone is a winning team,” he stated.
He noted that what they achieved within the context of the dialogue was a very good step.
He noted that as politicians they have differences in their political aspirations, but they do have friends across the political divide and assured that Sierra Leone is not broken.
Dr.Kamara however noted that true democracy rests on principles of majority rule and protection of individual rights. According to him, violation of those principles was what the dialogue was about within the context of the just concluded 2023 general elections.
He said when the APC accepted to go to the dialogue, the idea was to break the “impasse” that ensued when the results were announced.
“It is over 100 days. The healing still goes on and the healing will still go on,” he said.
He said they called it a dialogue with the hope that it would provide an opportunity for the two political parties coming from “very distant extreme ends” to arrive at an “equilibrium” or solutions that would appease not only the two parties but also all other stakeholders and particularly the people of Sierra Leone.
“For the APC, whose democratic right was stolen in a very arrogant manner, we did not come here to fight. We hope that the dialogue will rationalize how it happened, why it happened, and what measures to be put together to make sure it never happens again,” he noted.
On whether he achieved what he wanted, Dr. Kamara said he achieved what is supposed to be achieved within the context and terms of preference and capability of the mediation team.
He stressed that the agreement be fully implemented without any political posturing.
The team lead for the government, Chief Minister, David Moinina Sengeh Ph.D., said the dialogue would result in the strengthening of state institutions, many of which he said have been undermined and attacked for far too long.
He said that is why President Julius Maada Bio in his Big Five Changer manifesto included reform of the public sector and justice system. According to him, it is not a one-day process, but a commitment that the government has made.
He said the children of the country would learn a lesson from the “historic moment” that no matter how extreme they can be or what people might have said, their differences can be solved at a round table.
He said people who may not have spoken to each other for months can look at each other and express the things they disagree on.
“We believe that justice, democracy, and peace are fundamental for human and economic values. This is the belief of our party and the president,” Dr.Sengeh noted.
As a government, he said they believe in dialogue because it brings unity. “All of this is embodied by our commitment to transparency, accountability, and the rule of law,” he pointed out.
According to him, there is only one winner, and the winner is the people of Sierra Leone.
The resolutions of the dialogue include an end to the APC boycott of Parliament and Local Councils.
President Bio in consultation with the APC will constitute a cross-party committee on electoral systems and management bodies review with a three-way leadership nominated by the government, the APC, and development partners.
The parties of the dialogue agreed on the release of any person arrested, detained, or imprisoned for alleged elections and civil protests, and the discontinuation of any politically motivated court case against APC and other political parties.
After accusations of electoral irregularities by the APC when the presidential results of the June 24 Polls were announced, the party decided to boycott governance. International partners became involved to end the political impasse, which led to the mediation.
Copyright © 2023 Politico (23/10/23)
