Sierra Leone’s foremost opposition get together has stated it is not going to participate in any stage of governance within the nation, from parliament to native councils, following what it referred to as “fraudulent” presidential election outcomes.
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President Julius Maada Bio was re-elected for a second time period within the first spherical of voting with 56.17 p.c of the ballots, in accordance with outcomes launched by the electoral fee Tuesday, which have been contested by the opposition and native organisations.
Worldwide observers famous the “statistical inconsistencies” between the partial outcomes and the ultimate outcomes and condemned “the dearth of transparency” within the poll depend, whereas calling for peaceable dialogue to resolve variations.
The opposition All Folks’s Congress (APC), whose chief Samura Kamara got here in second with 41.16 p.c of the vote, stated late Friday that it might not tolerate “injustice, tyranny and usurpation of energy in Sierra Leone”.
“The APC declares its non-participation in any stage of governance, together with the legislature and native councils, because the outcomes have already been tampered with to present the SLPP an unjust majority in any respect ranges,” it stated, referring to Bio’s Sierra Leone Folks’s Occasion.
“The APC unequivocally rejects the introduced outcomes… given the evident irregularities and violations of established electoral procedures,” it stated.
It issued a collection of calls for, together with the resignation of the electoral commissioners, accusing them of “bias and failure to conduct their duties impartially”.
The get together additionally referred to as for an election rerun inside six months, saying the vote should be “overseen by credible people and establishments who will guarantee a good and clear course of”.
It demanded the resignation of a number of officers, and referred to as on “worldwide companions to impose journey bans on a dozen main figures in energy, together with the President”.
It referred to as the present authorities a “dictatorship” that’s “usurping energy”.
The APC claims the ultimate outcomes introduced don’t correspond with the whole quantity forged at every polling station.
The outcomes of the native and legislative elections, which came about on the identical day every week in the past, are anticipated this weekend.
The APC has warned towards comparable discrepancies within the outcomes of Freetown, the place the outgoing mayor is a outstanding opposition determine.
The Nationwide Safety Bureau, a authorities organisation answerable for homeland safety, has stated the choice outcomes introduced by civil society organisations, and the “lack of transparency” condemned in a joint assertion by six Western diplomats, may provoke “dangerous penalties” and “unjustified stress”, despite the fact that the election was usually calm.
(AFP)
