With the massive malpractices during the Koinadugu District by-elections, as observed and outlined by Chairman of National Election Watch (NEW) Mrs. Marcella Samba, it is crystal clear that Mohamed Konneh, Chairman and National Returning Officer of the National Electoral Commission (NEC) cannot be trusted to conduct the very crucial 2023 general elections.
The NEW press release issued almost immediately after this controversial by-election matter-of-factly condemned the elections describing them as fraught with bold and open malpractices.
Sparking in an angry tone over 98.1FM and in a similar vein when updating journalists on Friday 8th October, 2021 at the New Brookfields Hotel in Freetown, Marcella Samba noted that mobile phones of NEW Observers were seized in order to prevent them from recording relevant information: (snapshots, voice recordings etc.) depicting various election malpractices.
She described this particular by-election as “a by-election of thuggery, intimidation and electoral malpractices.”
She openly condemned the actions of some politicians from both the ruling SLPP and the main opposition APC for helping to confuse the process further at the polling stations, and for causing unnecessary tension.
According to her, votes that were already counted were deliberately changed to be in favor of the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party, is just one indication of how ugly things were at this particular by-election.
The fact that this deliberate malpractice was immediately corrected when NEW intervened is further indication that this particular by-election is full of malpractices.
Against this background, the general public is of the view that if the head of NEC can sit back and allow such atrocious, open and brazen election malpractices by NEC officials and not say or do anything, then it goes a short way to point to the fact that Mohamed Konneh is not fis and cannot be trusted to conduct the upcoming and crucial 2023 general elections.
