The Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone (ECSL) has kicked against criticisms from some foreign observers and governments about its handling of the latter part of the June 24 general elections, noting that all its actions were done in line with existing laws.
ECSL said it is proud of its services to Sierra Leone in delivering “one of the most credible, inclusive, transparent, and peaceful” elections since the introduction of multiparty democracy in the country.
In a statement issued on Monday, the first from the Commission since after it released the final results of the disputed elections, it bemoaned the trend of misinformation being perpetuated online which it says risk jeopardizing the country’s peace.
The ECSL has come under sustained pressure, particularly from western observer missions, notably the European Union Elections Observation Mission (EUEOM) and the Carter Center, as well as the US Embassy in Freetown, who accused the Commission of failing to ensure transparency in the counting and tabulation of results.
These are similar concerns held by the main opposition All People’s Congress (APC), which has rejected the results, which it believes were rigged in favour of the governing Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP).
The ECSL says while it is open to recommendations from observer missions, it will only consider those that add value to its work, stressing that it can only take actions that are in line with the laws and best practices.
“Whilst the ECSL awaits the final reports of the various accredited observer missions, we note the repetitive calls, mostly indirectly, from some quarters urging the ECSL to take actions that do not fall under the laws of Sierra Leone, ” it said.
“The ECSL assures all that it will be guided by extant laws and best practice precedents in all its actions,” it states.
One of the main demands of the APC is for the ECSL to publish data at polling station level. But the Commission didn’t address this in its statement, instead, it only stressed that the results it released were the true picture of what happened.
“The ECSL maintains that the declared results of the June 24 elections reflects the expressed will of the voters,” it said.
The Commission adds that at no point was the Chief Electoral Commissioner, Mohamed Konneh, put under duress by President Julius Maada Bio or any other government official.
“Suggested claims of that nature by misinformed persons on social media are malicious and dangerous to our democracy,” it sats, while slamming the “complicity” of unnamed partners in spreading such “harmful misinformation” with the potential to affect the post-election peace of the country.
