BY THOMAS DIXON

232NEWS, FREETOWN —

Both local and international Observers have described some stages of the 2023 multi-tier elections as lacking integrity.

This has affected the re-election of President Julius Maada Bio as the main opposition APC has actually refused to participate in governance at all levels.

In his statement in the State Opening of Parliament, President Bio has given credence to the allegation of electoral fraud.

“My Government remains committed to ensuring that State institutions undertake their mandates efficiently. In my last administration, we fully supported the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL) and other related Election Management Bodies (EMBs). The ECSL has a Constitutional mandate supplemented by the Public Elections Act 2022 for planning and conducting public elections in Sierra Leone,” the President said.

He said that the June 24th Multi-tier elections identified some logistical limitations that were, however, assessed as not negatively impacting the overall outcome of the Multi- tier elections in Sierra Leone.

He revealed that to improve ECSL’s continued planning and conduct of transparent and fair elections, a National Electoral Systems Review Committee will be established to assess the planning and management of the 2023 electoral cycle.

He explained that the National Electoral Systems Review Committee’s objective will be two-fold-to review the prevailing legal framework, related institutional and operational arrangements, and local and international observer missions’ reports and to propose key reforms for institutionalising the recommendations to enhance the operations of the entire electoral architecture in Sierra Leone.

He noted that the proposed National Electoral Systems Review Committee, with a broad membership of the Government, Development Partners, Civil Society and Professional Organisations, will be led by the Honourable Vice President and supported by an ad-hoc Technical Secretariat.

“The key deliverable of the Review Committee will be an Electoral Systems Review Report that will lay the foundation for critical reforms in the electioneering process with reference to the ECSL and all other EMBs in Sierra Leone,” the President said.

This decision according to Political Observers has actually given credence to the allegation of opaque electoral processes and has proven that the elections have serious credibility crisis.

Others believed that the credibility of Mohamed Konneh and the current crop of electoral commissioners must step aside while the review is going on.