By Kemo Cham
President Julius Maada Bio has appointed Mohamed Konneh, a financial crime investigation expert, as head of the National Electoral Commission (NEC).
Mr Konneh was named in a press statement issued on Monday. The statement signed by Presidential Secretary Dr Julius Sandy, said the appointment is subject to parliamentary approval.
Konneh, until Monday’s announcement, was head of the Financial Intelligence Unit. His appointment is expected to lay to rest months of speculation about the fate of Mohamed Nfa’ Allie Conteh, who presided over the 2018 elections that brought President Bio to power.
Conteh was appointed by former President Ernest Bai Koroma in 2015. He was one of the longest serving NEC member at the time.
Conteh came under scathing attack from Koroma’s then incumbent All People’s Congress (APC) whose supporters accused him of plotting to rig the elections in favor of the then main opposition Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) of Bio.
The SLPP eventually won the two-round presidential poll.
Surprisingly to many, Conteh was reportedly replaced by the NEC Commissioner Southern Region, Mr Edmond Sylvester Alpha, when he went for his annual leave in January, 2020.
The electoral commissioner of Sierra Leone can serve not more than two terms of five years each.
Following the 2018 elections, there were calls by some opposition parties for Conteh to be replaced, owing to grievances stemming from the general elections but also due to concerns around his handling of subsequent by-elections.
Konneh, who assumed office as Director of the FIU following his appointment by President Bio in February 2019, previously worked for the Anti-Corruption Commission of Sierra Leone and then the African Development Bank (AfDB).
Konneh’s appointment has not come without criticism. The main opposition party All Peoples Congress condemned his appointment on the grounds that he is a public official and his name is not in the electoral register.
An electoral ID of Konneh has since been circulated on social media to seemingly refute the claims. Konneh has also resigned his job with the FIU to take up the new role.
A date for his approval hearing in Parliament has not been announced.
As NEC boss, his immediate task will be to oversee the preparation of a comprehensive voter register together with the National Civil Registration Authority.
Since Konneh’s appointment on Monday election watchdog, the National Elections Watch (NEW) has not released a statement yet, sources within the organization told Politico that they will meet and form an opinion about the new appointment
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