By Saio Marrah
The Team Lead in Mediation between the Government of Sierra Leone and the main opposition All People’s Congress (APC) says they want a common ground on which both sides could work in the best interest of peace in the country.
Aja Fatoumata C.M. Jallow-Tambajang, former Vice President of the Gambia is leading the Commonwealth, African Union, and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) mediation efforts in Sierra Leone.
The Gambian politician and activist, who also served as Minister of Women's Affairs from February 2017 to June 2018, under President Adama Barrow, was briefing journalists and civil society activists on the eve of the dialogue, which actually got underway on Monday.
In her response to the so many suggestions and comments, from Journalists and CSOs, that the APC had issues with the General Election Results, census, and others, she noted that the main opposition had indeed made their demands, but they as mediators would be facilitating to support the process to forge a common ground.
She said the politicians should allow the interest of the country to override their individual political interests.
Madam Jallow-Tambajang also noted that during elections some of the international observers might not be executing their duties with an open mind. She said while no system is perfect, citizens should not bestow more trust and confidence in the said international observers than the country’s state institutions.
She however called on the state institutions to work towards regaining lost public trust. According to her, only Africans can change Africa for the better. She stressed that while some observer missions are positively impactful, others can bring chaos into a country.
Ms.Jallow-Tambajang also noted that as requested by the APC, the mediation team also met the Inspector General of Sierra Leone Police about demands for the release of all political detainees for criminal offences with the exception of murder offence.
She also assured that they would certainly meet with all key stakeholders such as the Judiciary, the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone (ECSL), and the Sierra Leone Police.
She also called for reform of the civil service by ensuring that the service is not politicized.
Thomas Dickson, a Journalist and media tutor at Fourah Bay College, the University of Sierra Leone noted that the mediation team should involve the ECSL to iron out the issue of disaggregated data of the election result.
According to him, that is among the demands of the APC. Dickson also noted that other APC demands have some legal implications.
He made reference to one of the demands that has to do with the payment of backlog salaries of the APC Parliamentarians, who have not taken their oath of office after the June polls. He pointed out that such demand has an effect on the laws of the land.
The President of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) Ahmed Sahid Nasralla told the mediation team to confirm who actually won the elections.
According to him, the country is divided and the media is part of the country. He called on the team to at the end of its mediation; help ensure peace reigns in the country.
The mediation process commenced on Monday 16th and ended on Wednesday 18th October 2023.
The APC leadership, after incumbent -President Julius Maada Bio was declared winner, decided to boycott Legislative and Local Council participation, contesting the outcome of the results.
Copyright © 2023 Politico (18/10/23)
