By Sylvanus Fornah Koroma (What A Man!)
The American Ambassador’s interview on Radio Democracy (FM 98.1) on Thursday, May 9, 2024, in Freetown, has successfully sparked genuine discussions and conversations among Sierra Leoneans and other concerned persons inside and outside of Sierra Leone on the issue of the feasibility or non-feasibility of a re-run of the June 2023 elections, including run-off or fresh elections. A re-run election is one of the three possible scenarios that might arise in the second election under section 42(2)(e) and (f) of the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone. The other two scenarios are run-off elections and fresh elections. Re-run elections, also known as repeat elections, occur when the initial or first election is invalidated due to irregularities, fraud, or other legal reasons.
The American Ambassador provided a clear and insightful perspective on why a re-run of June 2023 may not be a realistic scenario, anchoring his argument on the expiration of the 7-day timeframe after the declaration of results of the presidential election pursuant to section 54(1) of the Public Elections Act, 2022 (PEA, 2022), during which the elections for the presidency can be challenged. The Ambassador left out the crucial points of the Scope and Terms of Reference of the Tripartite Committee in his responses during that interview. However, I am focusing on the issues of legislation and accountability raised by the Ambassador’s interview, which appear to be more productive and aligned with the legal framework and practical considerationsthat the interview has generated in the public discourse regarding the outcome of the Tripartite Committee’s report and recommendation(s).
I believe that the American Ambassador failed to holistically view the electoral laws of Sierra Leone when he said, “The timeframe in which the electoral results could be challenged in court has long expired.” The Ambassador further went on to say, “I don’t think talking about invalidation of results or a re-run of the elections is helpful because it’s not realistic.”
At first hearing, one may be tempted to say that the American Ambassador’s assertion on the non-feasibility of re-run elections for the June 2023 elections in Sierra Leone is flawed. But upon further reflection, one would not totally dismiss every bit of the Ambassador’s comments. In fact, even though I strongly believe that the Ambassador should have refrained from commenting on the re-run to avoid prejudicing the outcome of the Tripartite Committee’s work, his statement or response has turned out to be a blessing in disguise as it is now bringing clarity to the issues surrounding “the big elephant in the room.’”
I agree with the Ambassador’s understanding of the Sierra Leone electoral laws that the challenge in court is the forum that would look at the invalidation of the electoral results. I also partially agree with the Ambassador that under the Sierra Leone electoral laws, there are specific timeframes within which the Presidential election can be challenged or petitioned. However, what I do not agree with the American Ambassador is when he said that the time for the challenge or petition has expired. Certainly, the electoral laws of Sierra Leone are very instructive regarding petitioning or challenging electoral results for which the National Returning Officer of the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone (ECSL) is mandated by law, as his duty and function, to publish and gazette the already tallied, computed, and certified results, as per law provides, from which he declared or announced the results. This is pursuant to section 52(b) of the PEA, 2022. The law, which provides for publishing and gazetting the already tallied, computed, and certified results, is further re-emphasized in section 93 of the PEA, 2022.
The publishing and gazetting of the results by the National Returning Officer and ECSL are very important duties and functions of the electoral process, and the failure to perform such duties and functions renders section 54(1) of the PEA, 2022, redundant. This is so because the gazetted results are the official results of the elections, and until evidence of the official results is provided, the June 2023 elections are incomplete.
Furthermore, there cannot be any invalidation of the election results where there is no official result (i.e. the gazetted results) against which the court will use to determine the irregularities, fraud, or other legal reasons.
So, the National Returning Officer and the ECSL’s blatant refusal to publish and gazette the election results of the June 2023 elections is a clear manifestation of corruption with impunity that must be stopped if Sierra Leone is to achieve justice.
In one of my recent publications on the same subject, I pointed to several legislations on the ECSL to showcase how the National Returning Officer, who doubles as the Chief Electoral Commissioner, and triples as the head of ECSL, and ECSL are involved in abuse of office, abuse of position, and Public officer using his office for advantage which are all crimes under the Anti-Corruption Act, 2008 and its Amendments in sections 42, 43, and 44 respectively. On that note, I encourage Sierra Leoneans to join me in calling on the attention of the Anti-Corruption Commission to do its long-overdue duty and avoid hiding behind its immunity as stated in section 20 of the said Anti-Corruption Act mentioned above.
In the interview, the American Ambassador commented on his optimism, commitment, and clarity shown by the leadership of both the government and the opposition regarding the importance of electoral reform and national unity for the progress of the country. This progress can be achieved with justice as the centrepiece! This is doable, and I will join the American Ambassador in being equally optimistic and confident if the leadership of both parties will be courageous enough to do justice as well as do the right things that would usher in the national unity critical for the future of the country.
The possibility of a re-run of the June 2023 elections should not be discarded as it would depend on various factors, including the legal framework, the findings and recommendations of the Tripartite Committee, and the willingness of all parties to engage in such a process.
Many Sierra Leoneans know, and it is important to note that re-running an election is a significant decision with legal and logistical implications. Therefore, discussions and negotiations among stakeholders would be necessary to determine the feasibility and conditions under which a rerun could occur, if at all.Finally,it must be noted that the official results of the June 2023 elections for the presidency (and the multi-tier elections) are yet to be published in the manner prescribed by our electoral laws, thus there is no date to which one can count the said seven days from!