By Chernor Alimamy Kamara
The Elections Observer Network Sierra Leone (EON-SL) has warned citizens and other persons or groups to refrain from providing parallel results or tabulations of the electioneering process.
The citizens’ observer group made its concern public in its elections observation report titled: “Saful Election in High Tension Environment”.
It noted that the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL) has access to information more than other bodies and that anyone so desirous of getting accurate information can do so by seeking it from the authorized body.
EON recommended that ECSL continues to remind and inform the public about pending election results and speedily process them and present them accordingly. It also called on Social Media operatives, in the spirit of national interest to endeavour to refrain from presenting falsehood to the public.
It noted that after the Chief Electoral Commissioner (CEC) of ECSL, Mohamed Konneh declared the result of the Presidential Elections on Tuesday 27th June 2023, President Julius Maada Bio of the Sierra Leone Peoples Party polled 56.17% and Dr. Samura Mathew Wilson Kamara of the All Peoples Congress APC polled 41.16%. It said the remaining eleven contestants each polled less than 1% of the total valid votes cast.
After observing with ‘great satisfaction’ the general good conduct of Sierra Leoneans through the electoral cycle, EON noted that there were isolated incidents of disorder in certain locations in some parts of the country; fortunately, none of those materially affected the outcome of the overall results.
It observed that parallel election results were portrayed by some civil society organizations, social media platforms, and other unauthorized bodies, but asserted that ECSL is the sole authorized and legally mandated agency to confirm and convey national election results.
“All observers’ groups/teams national or international, private or otherwise, like EON could only observe, comment and describe the electoral process and present their findings to ECSL and persons of interest to them,” part of the statement said.
It however noted that Result tabulation and or presentation for public consumption without due concurrence by ECSL is considered overstepping the boundaries of observation. It added that the declaration of the Presidential Results seemed to have taken away the momentum and interest in a multi-tier election.
EON pointed out that Social media platforms were extensively used during the Election and continue to be used in the last phase albeit; untrue, unverified, and inaccurate information dominated these spaces.
The observer Group commended Sierra Leoneans for having gone through the respective electoral cycles in relative peace and fine comportment and appealed to citizens to maintain peace and cordial interactions. It urged any person or persons not satisfied with the process to peacefully seek redress through the appropriate legal channels. The organization stated that a comprehensive report is being prepared, which it will present to the citizens as well as the respective Elections Management Bodies.
EON is a conglomerate of Professional, Labour, Civic, and Religious Organizations working in areas of peace, human rights, good governance, and democracy.
Copyright © Politico (05/07/23)
