We have been counting down the weeks but effective today we are counting down the days to Decision 2012. One hundred days from today – yes 100 days to the day on 17 November – when some 2.6 million Sierra Leoneans are expected to turn out and cast their ballot for President, Member of Parliament, Mayor (for those living in municipalities), Chairmen of District Councils and Councillors.
It is a watershed moment in our country’s political history hence we are marking it in a special way with this Special Issue of Politico Newspaper. On that day we will be voting for the fourth time in a nationwide election since the civil war ended in 2002. This is something for which we and all those who have stood with us as a nation must be proud.
But these elections are crucial for more reasons than one. Never in our country’s history have we had to cast four different ballots in one election. Thanks to our election cycle which stipulates that Presidential and legislative elections happen after every five years while local council elections take place after every four. For a country with a high illiteracy rate – around three-quarters – these will be a huge test. We are happy that the National Electoral Commission has factored this in and will be adding to the number of polling stations and reducing the number of voters per station to give time to proper and valid voting. (See interview with NEC Commissioner Aiah Mattia).
These elections are also very crucial because the stakes are much higher for us as a nation. We suffered as a consequence of our rich diamond resources which were cited as one of the causes of our brutal civil war. Today we have huge deposits of iron ore especially in the north of the country. And oil, believed to be of commercial quantity, is said to be underway.
But how do we manage these resources so they do not cause us the cuss our diamonds have caused us in general, but especially those in the communities in which they are found? You don’t need to look any further to see the decrepit state of Kono district and the areas in and around Tongo Fields in Kenema District. All because of their diamonds.
As a nation we have to dig deep into our conscience to get answers. Do we vote for people because of the backward traditional allegiance because we all hail from the same region or belong to the same ethnic group? Do we vote for people because of what we stand to benefit from their winning even if at the expense of the nation – thanks to cronyism? Or do we vote for people based on workable solutions to our myriad of problems? It is a choice we have to make to be able to make our country better or make it worse. We all have a conscience.
What we in Politico plan to do is to engender a healthy discourse around the prosperity of our nation. With only 100 days to voting day, this special issue looks at the Electoral Management Bodies and talks to them about their preparedness in conducting free, fair and peaceful elections. We urge all of you to keep their words for the records and hold them to them.
We have interviewed the Sierra Leone Police. It is they in whose hands the security and safety of the entire process rest. If they bungle it, we are doomed. If they goad the process securely we shall prosper as a nation. There is an interview with the head of the police herein. They have to be impartial and must show that.
The Political Parties’ Registration Commission seems to be beset with the most problem. They need a law that can strengthen their operations. Until that happens they are emasculated. At present the bill is lying in the House and has not been considered even though other bills that came after it have been promulgated. We urge Parliament to expedite the passing of that bill in the interest of fair play.
Again with 100 days PPRC’s time table is not clear. We are concerned about how much time political parties will have to campaign and engage with the voters to enable them make an informed decision. Political parties which cannot campaign right now – save through circumvented processes – have not made their agenda or manifesto known. The semblance of political debate happening now on radio and TV is fraught with invectives, incendiary comments and no clear-cut solutions for the country’s prosperity.
In subsequent issues of Politico, we shall endeavour to engage the political parties themselves with a view to changing this anomaly. We will also proffer our humble suggestions as to how we think the issues around our social amenities, our extractives sector, governance and the economy can be fine-tuned. We shall look at the role of the media especially the state broadcaster, SLBC. It is in the interest of the nation, nothing else, no one else!
(c) Politico 09/08/12
