National Coordinator of the civil society coalition monitoring in Sierra Leone, National Elections Watch (NEW) has expressed scepticism following a series of what he catalogued as challenges that continue to face the country’s elections body, NEC. In an interview with Politico, James Lahai notes that some clear lines have to be drawn and information around them must be accurate as the country gets closer to election day. Enjoy the rest of the interview which follows:
Politico: From NEW’s point of view, what do you think about the electoral process as we approach elections few weeks from now?
Lahai: Well we think it is challenging. After past activities some issues seem to have popped up and that will affect our own planning.
Politico: Such as...?
Lahai: You will be going to the field with information to re-registration centres and 2,700 or more exhibition centers but when you get to the field you realised that some centres that were meant to be re-registration centres turned out to be exhibition centres and some centres that were meant to be exhibition centres turned out to be re-registration centres. We would have trained and deployed our observers and given them the tools for specific centres and they go and face another type of situation, so a change causes a big challenge to be rectified. So that is why I say it is actually challenging. NEC keeping to their data and timing is a problem. Therefore NEC should wake up and ensure they verify the information they feed out to other stakeholders. They are principal in the entire management of the electoral process. So whoever is playing a part in that process depends on the information they get from NEC. That is why NEC really needs to be verifying the information and make sure that the information they put out is accurate.
Politico: So are you trying to say that the information coming from NEC is not accurate?
Lahai: Well, may be not intended but that is what you meet in the field, like I gave you the example of the re-registration and exhibition centres.
Politico: Apart from that would you say there are more difficult situations that face NEC?
Lahai: Well yes. You must note that a lot have been spent on the capacity building of NEC. Previously those who were holding very key positions at NEC have now been appointed to policy status.
Politico: That’s political appointment?
Lahai: Yes. So for example somebody who was operation is now a commissioner. Somebody who was outreach is now commissioner. So they have now fresh people who do not have the requisite capacity like those who were there. That also is a challenge.
Politico: So what do you think about the function of the PPRC?
Lahai: Well the PPRC is actually stepping up its effort maybe because of the attention given to them in terms of resources and the like. But still they are not what the public expect them to be because if you are managing the conduct of political parties but you do not have the authority to punish them. This is undermining their work. For example, political parties cannot be found wanting for flouting the political parties’ code of conduct because there is no punishment to be levied against them. This is a big concern. Therefore there is every need to make sure that the present political parties registration and regulation bill from the PPRC be pushed through like the NEC bill was speedily pushed through to give the relevant authority to NEC to carry out its mandate.
Politico: Are you concerned that we have [100 days] to go and this bill has not yet been passed into law?
Lahai: I am highly concerned because that’s an outlet for people to violate laws. But the Public Elections Bill has already been passed; the PPRC Bill should also be passed to reinforce the control mechanism for those who may want to disrupt the electoral process.
Politico: With all the challenges you say NEC faces [and] do you think it will be capable of conducting elections when we have just a couple of months left?
Lahai: I think the NEC is capable and has the requisite capacity to conduct elections but what is now emerging as worrying is the consciousness of NEC over what their power is. NEC is so depending on what is their mandate and responsibility and little attention is paid to what the impact of their action is on those for which their actions are taken.
Politico: Any specific examples?
Lahai: Like the new increment on the fees for candidates in the forthcoming nominations. I think NEC needs to reconsider those fees by holding consultation with the political parties concerned.
Politico: They said they are going to re-examine the fees and come out with a revised fee. What is your take as Civil Society? What would you recommend?
Lahai: Well I cannot suggest the fees for political candidate nomination. That should come out of the consultation with the political parties and that they should come out with a consensus. We think the present fee is prohibitive and should be revised to allow all to participate in the process. These increased fees have raised the stakes and so whosoever pays this money would want to fight hard not to lose and that will not be well for the outcome of the election results.
Politico: Finally what do you make of the role of the Sierra Leone Police? Do you have confidence in them that they will not take sides in the political divide?
Lahai: What I am worried about is the control mechanism of the police with the role of the Vice President being head of the police council and the Minister of Internal Affairs being the supervisory minister of the police. I don’t think this will make the police neutral in its role in the elections. This is making it difficult for the police to be professional because they are receiving command from political outfits. Even in recent events, you see that the police are trying to be professional but the political interference is stopping them from doing so. The confidence of the public is waning so that is why we as civil society are engaging the security sector especially the police to try to be professional in the forthcoming elections. We know this country needs peace and we need the police to take the lead in ensuring the peace and tranquility of the country for a peaceful electioneering process.
Politico: Thank you
© Politico 09/08/12
