POLITICS Serious Politics is Here Again...APC,SLPP,PMDC Brace Up For Local Elections Posted by on Apr 18, 2008, 12:16

Indeed, political issues are those in which even the mediocre, hoodlums and proletariats classify themselves to be technocrats and experts.  There idea might be considered to be myopic but carries with it a reasonable amount of justification.  This is because all and sundry is stakeholders in every political discourse and as such, could not be easily knocked off in any gathering that preaches the advancement of humanity.  The point that is being hammered home is that politicizing presupposes the convergence of the membership or inhabitants of a place to make a decision.

Since the declaration of the September 2007 Presidential Elections victory of President Ernest Bai Koroma and what was left in the political arena of this nation is nothing but intra party politics.  But even with that, it was only amongst the membership of the ruling All Peoples Congress that a semblance of politics was ebbing and flowing.  Infact, it was principally a struggle amongst and between the All Peoples Congress membership for ministerial positions and other senior governmental positions.  Though the struggle for positions has drastically subsided, it has been recorded in the historical book of this country as being unprecedented.  This is against the backdrop that, the contest or better still cut-throat competition was not only amongst the home based supporters of the All Peoples Congress hierarchy but it also attracted the “boys” from the diaspora and very disgruntled but high profile members of the opposition Sierra Leone Peoples party.  Like all other competitions, those that emerged victorious saw themselves as the true allies of the leadership, and the losers are still frustrated but hopeful about the nearest future.

Before Sierra Leoneans could actually appreciate the outcome of the 2007 general elections, the National Electoral Commission blew the whistle of participation for the conduct of the 2008 Local Government Elections.  The said election, if at all successfully conducted would be the second after the introduction of the tenets of democracy and good governance surprisingly, unlike the first conducted local government elections, the July 2008 Election has gained a very serious momentum.  Sierra Leoneans, including highly educated and high-profiled individuals have been nominated and awarded political parties symbols to contest in the forth coming elections.

Mention must be made at once that defeated parliamentary aspirants in the 2007 general elections have again been awarded symbols for their participation in the Local Council Election, which most Sierra Leoneans believed; it is for those that belonged to the lower class of our social stratification ladder.  Perhaps, this phenomenon could be used to pinpoint the seriousness with which this coming election has been held particularly by the politically conscious class in Sierra Leone.

Prior to this period, a reasonable number of Sierra Leoneans had held the view that the local council election would be insignificant, as most Sierra Leoneans are yet to see a quick turnover in their investment during the last electioneering activity in Sierra Leone.  However, things seemed to have taken a wider dimension.  By the unfolding activities in the main political camps of this country, it is glaring that real politics is here once more.

Candidly when Dr. Christiana Thorpe, the Chief Electoral Commissioner of the National Electoral Commission issued an ultimatum demanding political parties to submit the list of their aspirants, we thought it would be taken with a pinch of salt.  We had this feeling because; we knew that, the main opposition Sierra Leone Peoples Party had cried foul against the outcome of the September, 2007 Presidential  Run-off Election and had further demanded the invalidation of the employment of Dr. Christiana Thorpe.  However, since Dr. Thorpe continues to serve as the chief returning officer of the National Electoral Commission, her mandate must be respected by all registered political parties in Sierra Leone.

Apparently, it became the most pressing responsibility of particularly, the ruling All Peoples Congress party, the main opposition Sierra Leone People’s party and the opposition Peoples Movement for Democratic Change (PMDC) party to fill in aspirants for the elections.  Except for the Peoples Movement for Democratic Change (PMDC), the All Peoples Congress and Sierra Leone Peoples Party submitted names of aspirants for all the constituencies nationwide.  This singular fulfillment of their elections conditions could be used in confirming that both parties are the only sustainable political parties in Sierra Leone.

During the election primaries in the different political camps, it was evident that there were mounting tensions amongst the general membership.  Throughout the whole exercise, there were numerous reports of bribes being paid for the award of party symbols and discrimination against specific sets of people.  There were also instances in which individuals that were denied political party symbols threatened to join the other side or contest as independent candidates.  Pronouncements of death were even made on party stalwarts who had participated in the interview of candidates and the subsequent award of symbol.  The entire process has created some in-roads amongst different parties, which might affect their chances of survival in certain constituencies during the election.

Looking strictly at the basis of the election victory of President Ernest Bai Koroma, in the last election, one could find it painstaking to arrive at a point of telling which political party would get the elephant’s share of votes cast in the next election.  This difficulty has principally been detected based on the prevailing situation as it is.

Unlike in the past election, wherein it was the Sierra Leone Peoples Party that formed the governing authority, and the All Peoples Congress won almost all the contested seats in the Western Rural and Urban Areas. The Leadership of this country is now in the hands of the former opposition, the All Peoples Congress Party.Again, it is merely seven (7) months since the APC took over the reigns of government and if at all Sierra Leoneans are to write home about its activities and operations not much could not be said or written.  This does not however suggest that the “New” All Peoples Congress Party has not done positive things or make mistakes at its embryonic stage of its administration.  All what may be said at this moment is that the positive strides so far being made outweighed what some critics might call blunders of President Ernest Bai Koroma.

For the Sierra Leone Peoples Party and the Peoples Movement for Democratic Change, they have big fishes to fry in their south Eastern regions.  There is still the dilemma amongst those largely elitist class (may be) as to what party they should continue with or what steps must be taken now.  Until this dilemma is seriously addressed, the business of being victorious in an election would be very difficult.Anyway, the contending parties could hold on to the beliefs that political issues could not be easily addressed using theoretical data analysis.  This is because mankind is mostly subjected to unpredictable changes.  It is only God that knows best.