By Sallieu S. Kanu
The Leader and Presidential Candidate for the main opposition All Peoples Congress (APC) party has told parties to the dialogue to resolve disagreements relating to the conduct of the June 24 Elections, that “we must swallow our ego, our pride and do what is RIGHT for our people and in the best interest of our beloved nation”.
Dr Samura Kamara said during his opening comment at a dialogue facilitated by the Independent Commission for Peace and National Cohesion and supported by international mediators from the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States, and the Commonwealth, that the people are curiously waiting to see what will come out of this dialogue.
The dialogue brings together representatives from the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) and the main opposition APC party.
President Julius Bio was re-elected in the first round of voting on 24 June with around 56 percent of the ballots, according to results released by the electoral commission.
The opposition All People’s Congress (APC) has disputed the results and refused to participate in local or national government.
Dr Samura Kamara said, “In this dialogue, there has to be a path to restoring democracy and the people’s stolen vote. This is what the APC party leadership stands for and is fighting for.”
He said that “the social, economic and political context is obviously very challenging, and our people are suffering.” “The economy continues to worsen given the funding squeeze and uncertainty in domestic and international investor appetite. We owe it to our citizens to put all our efforts into building cohesion and find a win-win way forward that puts them in pole position,” he said.
“We are all here both as political parties and as domestic and international facilitators because we recognise that the present electoral and other state management systems are fundamentally broken and need urgent and sustainable fixing.”
Dr Samura said that they cannot fulfil the country’s potential if so many of their people feel their vote was not respected. He said that It is a test of leadership to choose what is right even when it’s difficult or people may criticise us for that. “I do recognise that our shared legacy as leaders must be that we have found a way forward that puts our people and country first. Every second, every minute and every hour we spend here, at this dialogue, must point us in the right direction. But first, we must unravel and accept the TRUTH. And thereafter, we must have strength and creativity to identify and collectively pursue those institutional reforms that will provide us with lasting pathways to social justice and democracy.”
The APC Presidential Candidate prayed that the dialogue would be guided by the presence and Grace of Almighty God,” so that we will have an outcome that will move this land that we love, our Sierra Leone, out of this dark trajectory that it is trapped in”.