𝐂𝐒𝐎𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐧 𝐀𝐏𝐂

Members of the Civil Society Consortium on Community Accountability and Service Delivery have condemned some members of the main opposition All People’s Congress (APC) Party for not speaking the truth about the work of the Tripartite Committee.
They accused some diplomats of playing double role between the two main political parties: the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) and the All People’s Congress (APC) party in the work of the Committee.
Addressing a news conference over the weekend at the prestigious Sierra Palms Hotel, Lumley Beach in Freetown, the National Coordinator, William Sao-Lamin said while the Government Representatives at the Committee were busy explaining the scope and mandate of the Committee APC members were busy raising the hopes of their members that there is going to be a re-run of the June 2023 Presidential election.
He stressed that the Committee was established to look at all the laws governing elections with the view to improve on future election. He pointed out that only the Supreme Court of Sierra Leone has the power to nullify election results and not the Tripartite Committee.
He said “The Committee does not have any mandate to recommend a re-run of the 2023 Presidential elections or the removal of ECSL Commissioners from their positions contrary to what is being peddled around by APC supporters.” The Consortium he said expresses serious concern over the decision of the APC party to suspend their participation in the Committee few days to the end of their work.
He noted that some of these diplomats are saying different things to the two political parties and the general public which he noted has the tendency to undermine the country’s peace and stability.
He said Commissioners of the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL) held five hours meeting with members of the Committee were several issues were discussed.
“Any grievance regarding electoral outcomes should be followed by the due process including recourse to the Supreme Court as outlined in Section 45 (2) paragraph A, B, C,” he stressed.
Sao-Lamin emphasized that the work of the Committee does not involve rerun of the elections, adding that their mandate is to review the 2023, 2018, 2012 and 2007 elections and make recommendations that will improve and guide future elections. He accused the APC delegation in the Committee of misleading their supporters that there is going to be a rerun of the June 2023 elections. He said government on the other hand has done a lot to engage the people on the truth behind the setting up of the Committee. He called on the people of Sierra Leone to remain calm and not to allow any politician to mislead them.
In his contribution, the Spokesman of the Consortium, Moses S. Mambu said the work of the Committee is not to audit the elections results but to look at all the laws and make recommendations that will improve future elections. He said the APC team in the Committee was not clear with their message to their supporters while the government side was clear that there is not going to be a rerun of the elections. Mambu pleaded with the people to go about their normal business, adding that Police has not granted clearance to anybody or group of people to demonstrate. He said “Sierra Leone belongs to everybody and not one set of people.”
For his part, David Koroma of the Civil Society Consortium of Public Accountability blamed the government and APC for failing to educate the public about the work of the Committee. He said if they had done that earlier it would have been a different situation today. He said the Committee should be seen speaking with one voice and sending one message so that the people will know exactly what is happening, contrary to what is happening now. David called on politicians not to add the burden on the people as they are going through a lot