Briefing Paper on the 2023 Election in Sierra Leone for the House of Commons
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Renewal News Network, London | 31 July 2023 |
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Contact: A. M. Savage ([email protected]
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The House of Commons research briefing on the Sierra Leone 2023 presidential election has been made public. While a full assessment of the elections from international election observers is still expected, initial international reactions to the election have been far from muted.
CBP-9829.pdf (parliament.uk)
The publication, which Nigel Walker put together and released on July 25, 2023, has 13 pages. This is not the result of extensive research; rather, it is based on articles from newspapers and other publications that can be found primarily online.
However, a caveat states, "The Commons Library does not intend the information in our research publications and briefings to address the specific circumstances of any individual. We have published it to support the work of MPs. You shall not rely upon it as legal or professional advice or as a substitute for it.” As a loyal Sierra Leonean, you should probably inform the British government about the election's proceedings and outcomes.
On page 4, the report states that "the two largest opposition parties, the National Grand Coalition (NGC) and the Coalition for Change (C4C), did not field presidential candidates in 2023." The report elaborates on this at page 7, saying, "a court injunction... prevented the C4C from holding its presidential and parliamentary candidacy elections." In the report, the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) expresses its hope that "the opportunity to entrench the country's democratic progress and, by extension, regional democracy will arise from this election. There can be no doubt that this will strengthen ongoing initiatives to revive and solidify democratic rule in the region.”
The publication notes in its section on international reactions that "on June 28th, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, and France issued a joint statement, expressing concern over 'the lack of transparency in the tabulation process.'" Unsurprisingly, the report states that Mr. Maada Bio "hit back," saying, "We should stand our ground and correct certain misrepresentations and tell them that it is the constitution of Sierra Leone that determines how results are counted here." The United Kingdom is said to have shared "concerns of observation missions about the lack of transparency in the tabulation process." There was also "concern about irregularities in the election results announced by the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone," as stated by US Department of State spokesperson Matthew Miller, who is cited in the report. According to the interim report from the European Union Election Observer Mission, which was cited in the study, "violence and a lack of transparency at critical stages of the elections" plagued the entire process.
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