By Nasratu Kargbo
According to West Africa Democracy Solidarity (WADEMOS) the level of political mistrust in the country has heightened as the elections draws closer. WADEMOS made this statement in a press release issued on the 18th of May 2023 after a pre-assessment solidarity mission in a bid to uphold democracy.
The release stated, “We observed a high level of mistrust among key actors involved in the election notably between the two major political parties, the APC and SLPP, and also between APC, and the ECSL”.
WADEMOS explained that the high level of mistrust is a result of political grievance from major political developments since 2018, citing the removal of MPs following the high court ruling, the mid-term population census, the recent August 10 riots, and the late introduction of the PR system. It added this has led to a heightened political environment ahead of the elections.
The press release highlighted other concerns one of which is the use of hate speech in political discourse, “Linked to the high level of mistrust is the increased use of ethnocentric, inflammatory, and incendiary language in political discourse through media platforms, particularly social media” a part reads. It added that this has the potential of powering ethnic tensions which has the tendency to heighten violence before, during, and after elections.
It added that there is a gap in communication processes between the ECSL and Political Parties, citing the de-duplication exercise to expunge the two hundred and fifty thousand (250,000) duplicated names from the register. The release noted that despite the existing mechanism for inter-party dialogues such as the Political Parties Liaison Committees, there is a gap in communication.
Proffering solutions to the problems noticed during the pre-election assessment, the Network called on political parties especially the two main parties to engage in dialogue in order to address outstanding challenges they’re faced with regarding the electoral process to secure a peaceful and credible election. WADEMOS proposed that dialogue is critical for promoting peace, trust, and confidence among the different actors and stakeholders in the elections.
It also called on civil society, the Independent Commission for Peace and National Cohesion, PPRC, ECOWAS, and Development Partners to support the speedy resolution of all pending electoral disagreements.
WADEMOS explained that stakeholders should be careful of using ethnocentric, incendiary, and inflammatory language such as hate speech and disinformation to ensure there be peaceful elections.
“We call on the media, media regulatory agencies, media professional groups, and influencers (editors’ guild, etc.) to prevent the use of their platforms for the dissemination of hate speech and inflammatory language”.
WADEMOS from the 15th to the 18th of May 2023 embarked on the pre-election solidarity mission in Sierra Leone ahead of the upcoming presidential, mayoral, parliamentary, and local council election.
Copyright © 2023 Politico (24/05/23)
