The conduct of free and fair elections is said to be a strong pillar of democracy, and the electoral process is a major component for fair elections in any country. It is against this backdrop that the Executive Director of the National Youth Coalition Morlai Conteh called on the Chief Electoral Commissioner Nfai Ali to resign, stating that there have been inconsistencies in the electoral process, which might lead to upheaval in the country if left unchecked.
He called on Government, Parliament, donors and members of the diplomatic corps to request the chief electoral commissioner ‘’to resign and give way for an appointment of a new chairman of the commission to take up the mantle of leadership of such sensitive institution”.
He maintained that Parliament should find reasons within the law to accommodate and make provision for a comprehensive exhibition, to ensure that Sierra Leoneans have credible and transparent elections.
The Executive Director for Democracy Sierra Leone, Alhaji Warisay admonished the general citizenry unite for the conduct of peaceful elections come 2018, pointing out that Sierra Leone has been making progress in terms of credible democracy in the West African sub-region.
“The fact that we are celebrating international day of democracy, means we have decided to focus on what is prevailing in our forthcoming elections, the theme of this year that was released by the United Nation is democracy and conflict prevention and they have been able to narrow it down to how institutions contribute to the stability of a state by using democratic means,” Alhaji Warisay added.
Executive Director, Citizens Advocacy Network, Thomas Moore Conteh said if people are going to appreciate the outcomes of the 2018 elections, there must have been a solid foundation at this particular moment, stressing that there have been lots of speculations from the people indicating that they are very much concerned.
He reiterated that there should be measures in place to correct some of the misconceptions going around.
“There could have been no reason for questions as to whether elections would hold on March 7th or not if we had system which the electoral process would go smoothly”, Moore added.
The International Day of Democracy aims to raise public awareness about democracy, its meaning and importance, and Sierra Leoneans used the day to question the electoral process.
