By Saio Marrah
The Parliament of Sierra Leone has approved the Presidential nominee for the position of National Electoral Commissioner for Western Region, Zainab Umu Moseray, despite objections by opposition party members. All People’s Congress (APC), National Grand Coalition (NGC) and some figures representing Coalition for Change (C4C), walked out of the House in protest. They complained of not being consulted over the woman’s nomination for the job.
The leader of the main opposition APC in Parliament, Chernor Maju Bah, of constituency 126, Western Area, called on his party members in Parliament to walk out, questioning Moseray’s competency, noting that the way the process was done was not in accordance with the constitution.
APC and NGC had earlier on written a letter to the leader of the government business, who also serves as the Chairman of the Committee on appointments and public service, Mattew Sahr Nyuma, alleging that the proposed NEC commissioner was involved in a corruption incident, while she was working at the Political Parties Registration Commission as Registrar.
Dr. Kandeh Kolleh Yumukella, of constituency 062 in Kambia district said 13 outof 17 political parties expressed concerns about how the appointment process was done and claimed his party was also not consulted.
But according to Nyuma, he told the Clerk of parliament to write a letter to the Anti-Corruption Commissioner, to investigate and report to Parliament about the said corruption allegations. According to him, the ACC replied later that ACC could not find any evidence against Moseray and she was therefore cleared.
In responding to the issue of consultation by the President before the appointment, Nyuma said seven political parties acknowledged the consultation from the office of President Julius Maada Bio, before her nomination and with only three saying they were not consulted.
The Deputy leader of Government Business in Parliament, Bashiru Silikie, of constituency 082 in Bo District, after the House eventually approved Moseray, reminded her she was chosen from amongst many other women and urged her to make sure the President succeeds in making the 2023 election credible and smooth.
He admonished her not be carried away by the negative things she will be faced with in the course of her work and hoped she would serve her conscience when discharging her responsibilities. Other MPs also encouraged Moseray to work for the good of the democratic process.
Copyright © Politico Online 29/10/21
