Over Refusal to Publish Voter Register APC Deputy Chairman Writes Strong Warning Letter To ECSL Boss

Am Dr. Alhaji Osman Foday Yansaneh Chairman
AL PEOPLES CONGRESS (APC) MOTTO: ACTION PROGRESS COMMITMENT

5th June2023

Mr. Mohamed K. Konneh
Chairman and Chief Electoral Commissioner
Electoral Commission Sierra Leone (ECSL)
Tower Hill Freetown.
Dear Sir,
RE: REFUSAL TO PUBLISH VOTER REGISTER AND NON-TRANSPARENT MANAGEMENT TO ELECTORAL PROCESS LEADING TO THE JUNE 24TH GENERAL ELECTIONS.
You will recall that the All Peoples Congress (hereinafter referred to a s the APC) of which I am a member has engaged the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone and your very good self severally on the need to exhibit openness in the management of the processes in the electoral architecture of ECSL for the forthcoming 24th June 2023 general elections. Prominent amongst the issues raised is the need to publish the voter register in good time to enable political parties better prepare and deploy elections monitoring personnel and assets.

Notwithstanding the numerous calls by the APC and well-meaning Sierra Leoneans for your institution to publish the voter register in good time and involve all political parties in the processes leading to the procurement of critical electoral materials and services, you have out rightly refused to comply.
Your refusal to exhibit openness and transparency in the way you manage ECSL and the electoral process has affected the trust citizens have in you and your 5th June 2023 institution to deliver peaceful, free, fair and credible elections. This apprehension was confirmed by several international reports including the European Union elections observer follow-up mission report in 2022. It is not yet late for you to
do the right thing, which is to immediately:
.I Release the disaggregated voter register;

II. Allow all political parties supervised access to the electronic tally system which you developed in secrecy;

III. Allow all political parties access to audit the ECSL electronic elections management architecture;

IV. Provide information in respect of who printed our ballot papers, how many were printed and agree on a custody and deployment protocol for all sensitive election materials;

V. Facilitate the distribution of voter ID cards at your various District offices as your staff are refusing to give out voter ID cards to citizens who go there for the purposes of collecting their voter ID cards.

VI. Agree on a protocol on how the uncollected voter ID cards will be stored in a secure manner.

Secrecy and non-transparent management of electoral processes are a fertile ground for conflict in any democracy. Twenty years ago, Sierra Leone rose from the ruins of war and sought the path of peace building through taking baby steps, including conducting free, fair and credible elections, to consolidate its democracy. On June 24th 2023, Sierra Leone will again go to the polls to determine who its next leaders are going to be. This can only happen in an environment where the electorate feel safe and trust the process will be free, fair and credible. Iam afraid that with the non-transparent ways you have set about managing the electoral process for the 24th June 2024 general elections, we stand the risk of breaking the chain of holding peaceful, free, fair and credible elections in the twenty years past. Sierra Leone is at cross-roads in consolidating its peace and democratic architectures. Your singular actions in the next few days will determine which way we go, whether we chose democracy over dictatorship, peace over conflict, a divided nation or a united nation. Posterity is waiting to judge you and I hope you will be on the right side of history.

In conclusion, I wish to draw your attention to recommendations proffered by the Election Observer Missions (EOMs to enhance the credibility of the Electoral process in the upcoming elections. They include the six points raised above and which were largely endorsed by attendees of the follow up meetings with Election Observers. The future of our fledgling democracy is in your hands and I urge you to do the needed.

Faithfully submitted,
Amb. Alhaji Osman Foday Yansaneh, National Deputy Chairman, APC.

cc
.1 The leader and Flag Bearer of the APC 2. The Chairman of the APC