Of course, in politics there is always room for compromise when the stakes are high enough and Sierra Leone is no exception. Unlike the APC, the fifteen other parties that contested the 7th March, 2018 elections did so with one agenda – to remove the APC from power. The APC on the other hand is seeking re-election as a party with a new candidate in the person of Dr. Samura Kamara.
It is now history that only four political parties actually got above 50,000 votes nationwide – namely the SLPP, APC, NGC and the C4C. While the other political parties that participated in the election could not get up to 50,000 votes, the reality is that these parties cannot be ruled out because in any event they could create impact leading to victory for either the APC or the SLPP depending on which party these smaller parties decide to throw their support behind in the run-off polls.
Political analysts and social commentators are of the view that the importance of the National Grand Coalition (NGC), Coalition for Change (C4C), Alliance Democratic Party (ADP), Citizen’s Democratic Party (CDP) and even the Revolutionary United Front Party (RUFP) cannot be ruled out when it comes to the APC or the SLPP striking a deal with these smaller parties to help either of them (SLPP or APC) win the run-off election.
This is not to say that the other parties which contested the election are not important because they are important as far as the business at hand is election; because election is about numbers and in the run-off, the first past-the-post this time round will be declared winner.
Therefore, it would be necessary on the two parties that would be contesting in the run-off (SLPP and APC) not to take lightly the issue of forming mergers, coalitions or allowing compromise in gaining the support of the other political parties because it is the members from these smaller parties that would swell the number of either the APC or the SLPP for either one to emerge winner of the March 27, 2018 presidential run-off election.
As stated above, the importance of the National Grand Coalition (NGC) and Coalition for Change (C4C) which came third and fourth respectively according to the NEC final result cannot be underrated, undermined or overlooked. This is because these two parties’ support to either the APC or the SLPP will be a major determinant to the outcome of the run-off.
In other words, either of these two parties that throws its weight behind the APC or the SLPP would give more chance to either the APC or the SLPP to emerge winner of the March 27, 2018 presidential run-off election.
