Exactly seventeen
days from today, Sierra Leoneans will vote.
Candidates
have been making promises as the campaign period enters third week.
Logo of the ruling All Peoples Congress (APC) party |
Logo of the main opposition Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP) |
In many
ways this is the most important election so far for the country struggling to
shed its turbulent past. It comes exactly ten years since the end of the war.
And popular belief is that about half of all post-conflict countries relapse
into unrest within this period.
Also, as
the third democratic elections and first to be organised entirely by Sierra
Leoneans since the war, this will be the first ever multi tier elections – a
total of four different elections to be held in one day – presidential,
parliamentary, local councils and village heads.
There were
concerns, therefore, over the preparedness of the National Electoral Commission
(NEC) to handle such a huge task.
The
international community, particularly the United Nations which have spent
millions of dollars to keep intact the prevailing fragile peace process, is
watching closely.
Nine
people are vying for the presidency.
Analysts
are expecting a runoff, in line with past experience. But incumbent President
Ernest Bai Koroma and his clearly over complacent supporters would rather no
mention is made of a second round.
Crucially,
the overall concern within the next few weeks is the peaceful conduct of the
polls.
Weak
institutions and communal polarization have been identified among factors
fuelling the chances for violence.
At the
center of this is the impartiality or lack of it, of public institutions, notably
the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation, police, military, and judiciary.
For the
incumbent government, it is more like a referendum for its first five-year term
which saw a mixed bag of development.
For President
Koroma in particular, a successful and respectable insurance broker and former
lawmaker, his much praised democratic credentials are under test.
He came
to power in a relatively smooth regime change process, something not common in
this part of the world.
His
opponents have expressed misgivings over the likelihood of his replicating
that.
Until a
few weeks ago everything seemed well.
The ugly
incident involving the convoys of the two major rivals, President Koroma and
(rtd) Briogadier General Julius Maada Bio, a former head of state, kind of accentuated
a foreign side of the normally charming incumbent who took to making vitriolic
comments indicating a sudden rise in political tension.
“In us
they see a brighter future and in the opposition they see a broken past in
which guns and bullets were the currency of exchange,” the president said at
the launch of his manifesto last month.
Among
others, he promises improvement in areas he scored high during his first term -
health care, roads and electricity.
The SLPP
appears to be doing good in sticking to issues rather than personality attacks.
Mr Bio
promises a series of reforms, some radical, while launching his manifesto.
The
former junta leader who prides himself in his and his party`s ending of the war
and restoration of democracy promised to renegotiate all Mines and Minerals
Acts as well as existing mining contracts. He also has major plans for the
education sector, as well as the fight against corruption.
"It
is now glaringly obvious that the APC government is raping the Sierra Leone
mining industry with adverse consequences for the national economy and
socio-economic life in mining communities,” Bio said, accusing the president of
presiding over poverty while he continues to “ascend the ladder” as one of the
world`s richest leaders.
But even
some level headed supporters are on edge over some of the choice of words.
“We
expect the leaders to lead the way in peaceful campaign by setting examples,
not by making rabble-rousing statements,” said one Mohamed Barry, who claims to
be reconsidering his support for his favourite candidate.
“They are
all the same,” added a more pessimistic voter, a commercial bike rider who
believes voting for either candidate is juts waste of time.
The
diplomatic community is no less concerned.
"We are very pleased to see the progress
made so far in the run-up to the election. We are also keen to see that Sierra
Leone makes a transition in a democratic manner," said US Ambassador
Michael Owen, at a joint press conference with his UK counterpart
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