That is the good news which guarantees that something positive is in the offing for the majority of Sierra Leoneans. Mixed feelings however for the Communique as some Sierra Leoneans do not have hope of achieving anything positive from it. However, from the political perspective, the fact that global partners who are apparently the cornerstone for the protection of our democracy in Sierra Leone are part and parcel of this arrangement indicates why there should be maximum optimism for the restoration of the people’s mandates stolen on June 24, 2023 general and presidential elections. (Photo: Former President Ernest Koroma with international visitors).

There is no doubt that the illegal Sierra Leone President Maada Bio in connivance with the crooked Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone chairman Mohamed Kenewui Konneh siphoned the results of the polls that were clearly won by the main opposition APC party. This salient fact is not a hidden secret and even the doubting Thomases of the Communique are aware of this fact. But Sierra Leoneans who say the illegal Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio would never agree to the conclusion of the impending electoral committee need to decipher the Communique properly. There is no way Maada Bio or any other SLPP/Paopa idiot would stand in the way of the implementation stage of the six-month electoral investigations as enshrined in the Communique.

From experience, wherever you see international partners closely watch an arrangement of this sort particularly if they are included as one of the three parties in the electoral committee to probe the June elections, you know that positivism is a must for the voters. Clearly, the endorsement and full participation of the global partners in the Communique signed by all the participants during the three-day Peace Dialogue on October 16 to 18, 2023 in Freetown should not be thrown in the ash can of history. Let’s give the Communique a chance and wait in the next couple of months to see how it pans out. When you read Article 3 section C of the Communique it reads thus: “The recommendations from the committee shall be actionable and implementable.”

What does the above section mean? Simply put, it means all three participants from the SLPP, the APC and the Development Partners will abide by the dictates of the outcome of the electoral investigations into the chaotic June 24, 2023 elections. There are no ifs, no buts. Close associates of Maada Bio know how jittery Maada Bio and other SLPP stakeholders have been since the Communique became binding. So the pessimists and the doubting Thomases who still carry the idea that Maada Bio would not abide by the conclusion of the committee are living in Cloud Cuckoo Land. Let them be rest assured that the APC is on the right track and the possibility of a Re-Run is 75% imminent. Have faith in the APC leadership of Dr Samura Kamara rather than bash him into smithereens for no justifiable reason. (Photo: APC and SLPP during the recent Dialogue0.

ARTICLE 3 OF THE SIGNED COMMUNIQUE OF THE MEDIATED DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE APC PARTY AND THE SLPP

HE the President, 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 the Development Partners. This body will examine the electoral systems, structures and processes of the 2023 multi-tier electoral cycle.

The committee will also 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 publication of electoral data consistent with international best practices to enhance the credibility of all future elections in Sierra Leone that guarantee elections to be free fair and credible.

1. The term of reference will be developed under the joint leadership of the committee within 30 days

1. The duration of the committee will be 6 months from the date of establishment.

1. The recommendation from the committee shall be actionable and implementable

1. The committee will be on gender balance.