Evil will never triumph over good. Electoral thieves like Maada Bio will fail very soon. An imminent re-run is on the card, no doubt about it as the proof of the pudding is in the eating. The Communique produced from the 3-Day Dialogue between the illegal SLPP regime and the main opposition APC party witnessed by the international community has shown that a re-run of the chaotic June elections publicly stolen by illegitimate President Julius Maada Bio is still possible. The voters who think their votes would go in vain should not despair as the much-talked-about Communique or Agreement is another hope of restoring democracy to Sierra Leone. (Photo: The APC hierarchy during the Dialogue).

All the participants signed and agreed to abide by the contents of the Communique including the formation of a Committee to probe into the fraudulent June 24 elections in Sierra Leone. The African Union AU, the Economic Community of West African States ECOWAS, the Commonwealth plus the US, UK, and European Union EU, etc. all did their best to observe the Dialogue from October 16, 2023 to 18. It was agreed among other agreements for the SLPP, APC and global partners to constitute the Cross Party Committee on Electoral Systems and Management Bodies Review within one month.

The illegal Sierra Leone President Maada Bio who also reluctantly signed the Agreement is quite aware of the possibility of a re-run when the Committee commences work in a month’s time. Presently, all three parties namely the SLPP regime, the APC party and the international community are shuffling within their membership and outside to appoint people of high calibre to be part of the Cross Party Electoral Committee to look into the badly run June 24 elections and to find a way out of the impasse for future elections in Sierra Leone. The ‘future’ mentioned here also means the re-run of the June 24 elections.

It is highly likely that the outcome of the Cross Party Electoral Committee’s findings would be positive for the people of Sierra Leone. First, the demand of the APC calling on the Bio regime especially the corrupt Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone ECSL to produce the disaggregated results District by District of the June elections is central to the Committee’s investigations. Up to press time, the ECSL in collaboration with their paymaster Maada Bio has refused to release the election results despite persistent requests from the global partners the APC party and other internal stakeholders. (Photo: SLPP delegation during the Dialogue).

That is why, the Dialogue that ended recently which achieved less than expected clearly agreed to set up the investigating Committee for the next six months. Presently, the Bio presidency is very unsettled knowing full well that the outcome would go either way. Political observers believe a re-run of the June elections is firmly on the card and should not be discounted. “You ignore it at your peril,” a top lecturer at Fourah Bay College warned the doubting Thomases. Yet, the conspicuous fact remains that enemies of democracy are pretending a re-run will never happen because they think the criminal manipulation of the June 24, 2023 elections will not be overturned.

The international community, however, would not relent until democracy is restored to Sierra Leone. Sierra Leoneans who still think that the game is over for the main opposition APC party to take power in a couple of months’ time are daydreaming. People’s last hope relies on the constituted Cross-Party Committee on Electoral Systems which will look into the Electoral Systems and Management Bodies Review with a three-way leadership nominated by the illegal government of Sierra Leone, the APC and the global partners.

Read the gist of the Dialogue conclusions regarding the Electoral Committee that was set up after the three-day Dialogue at the Bintumani Hotel in Freetown. “The Committee will be informed by previous elections with a view to highlighting and addressing the contentious issues of elections and results management including the collation, verification, authentication and publishing of electoral data consistent with international best practices to enhance the credibility of all future elections in Sierra Leone that guarantees elections to be free, fair and credible.

“The SLPP, in consultation with the APC party, will constitute a cross-party Committee on Electoral Systems and Management Bodies Review with a three-way leadership nominated by the Government of Sierra Leone; the APC Party and Development Partners. This body will examine the electoral systems, structures and processes of the 2023 multi-tier electoral cycle. The Terms of Reference will be developed under the joint leadership of the committee within 30 days.

“The duration of the committee will be 6 months from the date of establishment. The Recommendations from the Committee shall be actionable and implementable. The committee will be gender-balanced. The facts above are very important information on the Communique.” From the preceding points, it is clear that the illegal SLPP regime is jittery and there are competent sources at the State House that suggest that Maada Bio is not happy with the outcome of the Dialogue. In conclusion, the people of Sierra Leone should be optimistic that the restoration of their mandate will soon come. A re-run is on the card to protect democracy.