The National Election Watch (NEW) has in a press release put out on Tuesday, March 29, 2022 said it observed that the just concluded bye-elections conducted by the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone (EC-SL) in Constituencies 005 and 073 in Port Loko and Kailahun districts, respectively, were peaceful without any major incidence of violence disrupting the process.
NEW said that both bye-elections were peaceful and political parties largely complied with the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) they signed, an idea that was initiated by the Political Parties Registration Commission (PPRC).
“There was only one breach of the MoU by the APC sitting Member of Parliament, Hon. Umpha Sorie Gbassay Koroma representing Constituency 114, Calaba Town, in Parliament. Hon. Umpha Sorie Gbassay Koroma went within the vicinity of Centre Code 10190 at Mamamah RC Primary School without accreditation. He was then asked to leave but he refused, a scuffle ensued and he was arrested by the police. Voter turnout was relatively low and long distances in-between polling centres, in some instances up to 15 miles especially in Constituency 073” NEW said in the release.
NEW also said in the release that at Centre Code 1099, Muloma Women Development Association, Levuma Njeigbla, Polling Station 2, a middle age woman, Baindu Lansana, voted twice.
According to NEW, after Baindu Lansana had voted, upon leaving the polling centre, her name was called again and so she went to the Voter Identification Officer (VIO) and informed him that there are several Baindu Lansana’s in Bombohun village, where she was coming from and that she had voted.
“The VIO still directed her to the Ballot Paper Issuer who gave her a ballot paper making her vote a second time. Upon voting, the Ballot Box Controller observed her finger was already inked. She was handed over to the police for further investigation. The EC-SL Commissioner for the Eastern Region arrived at the scene and upon investigation relieved the VIO of his responsibilities, replacing him with the Queue Controller. He was handed over to the police and the two were eventually transferred to the Daru Police Station,” NEW said in the release.
In that regard, NEW recommended that EC-SL and all other democratic institutions supporting Electoral Education should design a tailored voter education for the aged and rural voters.
By George M.O. Williams