๐๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐ ๐ ๐จ๐๐๐ง๐.
According to official results announced by Christiana Thorpe in the run-off Presidential election held on 8th September, 2007 Ernest Bai Koroma of the APC (All Peopleโs Congress) emerged victorious with 54.6% of the total valid votes counted. He defeated the SLPP candidate, Solomon Ekuma Berewa. The defeat of the SLPP in 2007 threw the party into a state of disorganization.
One of the reasons why the SLPP lost the 2007 Presidential run-off election was the formation of the PMDC (Peopleโs Movement for Democratic Change) led by Charles Francis Margai. The PMDC, a rival political party from the Southeast, made a significant showing in the general elections of 2007. The PMDC became a major threat to the electoral fortunes of the SLPP in the Southeast, the partyโs stronghold. Charles Margai had (still has) name recognition in the Southeast.
After the defeat of the SLPP in 2007, a group of determined party faithful got together to identify someone (a Southeasterner) that would rescue the party from its prolonged disorderly status and eventually regain political power.
๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ญ๐ง๐๐ฒ ๐๐ญ๐ซ๐๐๐ญ
20 Pultney Street in Freetown soon became a meeting point for SLPP members that had only one motive, that is, to identify a suitable Presidential candidate that would be able to unite the party and above all, defeat the APC party in 2012.
People like Alhaji Kanja Sesay, Dr. Abass Bundu, Edward Suluku (Solution), Hon. Foday Rado Yokie, Abdulai Sesay, Kabineh Kallon and J.J. Saffa began meeting to identify a suitable candidate for the 2012 Presidential election. They all agreed (without any dissention) to support Brig. (Rtd) Julius Maada Bio to become the partyโs standard bearer for the 2012 Presidential election.
๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐ญ๐๐ฌโ ๐๐จ๐ง๐๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐๐
By the time the SLPP delegatesโ conference was held at the Miatta Conference Centre in Freetown in 2011, to elect a flag bearer, the party was seriously fractured and was urgently in need of a unity candidate. A good number of Southeasterners rallied behind Brig. (Rtd) Julius Maada Bioโs candidature and they ensured that he won the flag bearer contest in 2011.
After the flag bearer contest had been settled, the party (or some sections of the party) wanted Brig. (Rtd) Julius Maada Bio to appoint Alhaji Usman Boi Kamara as his running mate for the 2012 Presidential election. Usu Boi came second in the flag bearer race. Many party supporters accused him of vote buying because he had enough money to do so.
๐๐ซ. ๐๐๐๐ข ๐๐๐ฌ๐๐ฒ
At the end of the day, Brig. (Rtd) Julius Maada Bio decided, with advice from his kitchen cabinet, to appoint the well-known academic Dr. Kadi Sesay as his running mate for the 2012 election. Dr. Kadi Sesay also contested the 2011 flag bearer election but lost.
After Dr. Kadi Sesay joined the Pultney Street team, she realised that, there was no way anybody was going to defeat Brig. (Rtd) Julius Maada Bio in the flag bearer race in 2011.
In an interview with the Global Times in 2011, Dr. Kadi Sesay admitted, โI actually underestimated Brig. (Rtd) Julius Maada Bioโs determination to lead our partyโฆFrom what I have seen now, he has the most organised campaign head office and a team of committed and highly skilled operators and media handlersโฆThere is no way any one of us would have defeated him with such a formidable teamโ.
Dr. Kadi Sesay enjoyed a cordial working relationship with Brig. (Rtd) Julius Maada Bio and his team. She added a lot of value to the team. Whenever Brig. (Rtd) Julius Maada Bio was out of the country, Dr. Kadi Sesay held the fort.
After Christiana Thorpe declared the results of the 2012 elections, Dr. Abass Bundu, a staunch supporter of Brig. (Rtd) Julius Maada Bio wrote a newspaper article, accusing Christiana Thorpe of daylight robbery of the will of the people. He argued that, the result did not reflect the will of the electorate. He added that Brig. (Rtd) Julius Maada Bio won the election but lost the result.
The decision to appoint Christiana Thorpe as Chief Electoral Commissioner by President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah in 2007 was perilous. The Kabbah government had no control over Christiana Thorpe. She was a puppet in the hands of the international community and an integral part of the regime change agenda.
๐๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ญ๐ง๐๐ฒ ๐๐ญ๐ซ๐๐๐ญ โ ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐ข๐๐ฎ๐ฅ
After the 2012 election defeat, the SLPP was determined to return to power. They had become hungry for power. The party stood firm in their support for Brig. (Rtd) Julius Maada Bio.
In October 2017, Brig. (Rtd) Julius Maada Bio was re-elected flag bearer of the SLPP ahead of the March 2018 elections. He ran a very successful campaign to be re-elected flag bearer and eventually President of the Republic of Sierra Leone. His team at 20 Pultney Street was very committed and gave the 2018 Presidential election their best shot.
It therefore came as no surprise that almost all the key players at 20 Pultney Street got appointed to very important positions in government. Dr. Abass Bundu (Speaker of Parliament), Alhaji Kanja Sesay (Minister of Energy), Edward Suluku (Minister of Internal Affairs) but later sacked, Kabineh Kallon (Minister of Transport and Aviation), Hon. Foday Rado Yokie (appointed Minister of Mines and Mineral Resources but later sacked), Abdulai Sesay (appointed Personal Assistant to the President at State House), J.J. Saffa (first appointed Finance Minister and later Chief Minister).
20 Pultney Street still remains a meeting point for some of the original architects that designed the Bio victory strategy in 2018. They have started meeting again. Rest assured Brig. (Rtd) Julius Maada Bioโs reelection victory in June 2023 is nailed-on. No run-off!
20 Pultney Street-The Beautiful!
