Supporters of Sierra Leone's All People's Congress (APC) presidential
candidate Samura Kamara hold a campaign poster during a rally for his
party's presidential candidate on March 3, 2018, in Kambia. The country
goes to the polls on March 7 for a general election that will select a
new president, parliament and local councils. AFP PHOTO | ISSOUF SANOGO
Sierra Leone President Ernest Bai Koroma last week took a break
from attending to state matters to join the campaign trail. His first
stop was Kabala in the northern Koinadugu District.
For
the ruling All People’s Congress (APC) party, the concern over
Wednesday’s polls is not just the fear of losing power, but also at
stake is the legacy of a man who has dominated politics in this
country’s for the past 10 years.
President Koroma is
under pressure to deliver victory for the party, not just to justify his
controversial hand-picked successor, but also to guarantee himself a
peaceful retirement.
There has been a lot of talk about
corruption under his watch and the need to protect the alleged loot.
But for his supporters, the 64 year-old former insurance broker has no
match in terms of his accomplishments. He has himself never missed an
opportunity to blow his own trumpet.
“Under normal
elections, we are strong enough to win in the next five to six
elections…,” he said in December, at a Christmas Dinner party organised
in his honour, boasting that he was leaving the presidency with the APC
at its strongest.
Most competitive elections
But less than a week before the votes are cast in what has been
described as the most competitive elections since multiparty democracy
was introduced in 1996, few people can agree with his overoptimistic
demeanour of Mr President. And his visit to Koinadugu, a district in the
north,,was part of the explanation.
APC is not only
facing a more determined opposition, it is simultaneously dealing with
cracks within like never before. At least half a dozen heavyweights have
abandoned it.
Notable among those are three former
cabinet ministers. One of them, Mr Peter Bayuku Conteh, who hails from
Koinadugu, cited “dictatorial” tendencies as reason for his departure.
Koinadugu,
like the rest of the northern Sierra Leoneans, has always been an APC
stronghold. But the bruising flagbearer contest last December left its
people disenchanted. Former Central Bank Governor, Dr Kaifala Marah, one
of about a dozen people who vied for the APC’s ticket, is from the
district.
Angry youths burnt down APC paraphernalia in
protest against President Koroma’s choice of his former Foreign
minister, Mr Samura Kamara, when he was unveiled.
There
were similar expression of discontents in Port Loko and Kambia in the
region, over what was seen as the president’s unilateral decision.
In
addition to the intraparty quagmire, APC has to deal with a fragmented
but determined opposition. For the first time in a long period, a third
force with a real chance of influencing the elections outcome has
emerged.
Candidates
In
all, 17 political parties are contesting the polls. According to the
National Electoral Commission (NEC), 446 elections will be held for
local council positions, including mayoral contests in five cities:
Freetown, Makeni, Kenema, Bo and Kono.
The 3,178,663
registered voters will also vote directly for the 132 seats reserved for
ordinary members of parliament. The elections for the 12 seats reserved
for traditional rulers [Paramount Chiefs], were held earlier.
But the presidential race, with 16 candidates, is the major point attraction. And the APC and SLPP candidates are the undoubted favourites.
But the winner must have at least 55 per cent of the total vote to avoid a runoff, which many analysts say was unlikely in this poll.
But the presidential race, with 16 candidates, is the major point attraction. And the APC and SLPP candidates are the undoubted favourites.
But the winner must have at least 55 per cent of the total vote to avoid a runoff, which many analysts say was unlikely in this poll.
Part of the reason for this is the emergence
of many breakaway parties, notably the National Grand Coalition (NGC),
led by a hugely charismatic and respected former UN diplomat, Dr Kandeh
Yumkella.
Most of NGC’s top figures are aggrieved former SLPP members, but the party appears much of a threat to APC.
Dr Yumkella, 58, is campaigning on the platform of job creation, hence his popularity among the youths. He has vowed to declare education as an emergency as his first act in office.
If the Sierra Leonean elections were to be decided internationally, the impressively eloquent agricultural economist would win hands down.
Dr Yumkella, 58, is campaigning on the platform of job creation, hence his popularity among the youths. He has vowed to declare education as an emergency as his first act in office.
If the Sierra Leonean elections were to be decided internationally, the impressively eloquent agricultural economist would win hands down.
Dr
Yumkella is best known for his tenure as head of the Vienna-based United
Nations Industrial Development Organisation (Unido) and he has served
at various high level UN panels, including as the Secretary-General’s
Special Representative for Sustainable Energy, a position he left to
contest the presidency.
Endorsement
His
purported recent public endorsement by former Nigerian President
Olusegun Obasanjo almost created a diplomatic row with Nigeria.
NGC
came at a time when pro-democracy campaigners mounted a drive to
promote issue-based as opposed to ethnic-based politics, that have
characterised Sierra Leone since before independence in 1963.
APC
and SLPP have dominated the system throughout the period. While APC has
largely enjoyed support from the northwestern part of the country, SLPP
held sway over the southeast.
This seemingly impenetrable reality is what NGC seems to have crushed.
Dr Yumkella appeals to the mostly educated elite, who have refused to partake in the country’s politics due to disillusionment.
Dr Yumkella appeals to the mostly educated elite, who have refused to partake in the country’s politics due to disillusionment.
NGC
comes across as the moderate version of the two extremes – APC and SLPP
– and the alternative for those who feel aggrieved in either [and there
are many of them] and wanted to switchover without risking humiliation.
All three former cabinet ministers who left APC joined NGC.
Swing state
Another hurdle for the APC is the eastern Kono District, which has until now played the role of a swing state.
Kono
was notably instrumental in the election of President Koroma in 2007.
But with the formation of the Coalition For Change (C4C) party, things
have changed.
C4C is the brain child of former
Vice-President Samuel Sam-Sumana, a presidential candidate himself, who
has been sounding like someone seeking his pound of flesh for his
unceremonious removal from office in 2015.
Those and
several other factors, including the struggling economy exacerbated by
the events of Ebola epidemic and the flooding and mudslide disasters in
2015 and 2017 and how they were handled, were all working against the
incumbent.
Unique experience
Despite opposition to his candidature, Mr Kamara exudes a remarkable character.
The
66-year-old economist has the unique experience of having served under
all governments since 1991, including the junta regime led by his main
challenger in this election, Brig (Rtd) Julius Maada Bio, whom he served
as Finance minister.
Mr Kamara also served as
Financial Secretary in the late Tejan Kabbah-led SLPP administration.
And in the Koroma administration, he notably served as bank governor and
Finance and Foreign Affairs minister.
He is credited
with spearheading President Koroma’s development blueprint, the Agenda
for Prosperity, but which also makes him a target for critics who say
Koroma failed to deliver his promises.
Mr Kamara
campaigned on the platform of an inclusive government. His manifesto,
‘Governing for the Grassroots’, promises effective public finance
management.
Brig Bio, 53, is making his second attempt
at the presidency. The man who considers himself as the father of Sierra
Leone’s Democracy, lost to President Koroma in the 2012 polls.
Bio
is campaigning on the premise of revamping the education system. In his
New Direction Manifesto, he promised to provide free primary and
secondary education.
The other candidates include two women, highly educated and intelligent, with interesting programmes.
Sadly, due to Sierra Leone’s highly regionalised politics, these men and women were mere statistics in the race.
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