Fellow Sierra Leoneans, on 10th November 2011,
I caused my office to announce the dates for the 2012 Local Council and
Parliamentary elections; it was little over a year to those elections.
Today,
as envisioned by our Constitution, and in line with established practice, I have
again instructed my office to put forth a public notice announcing that
parliamentary and local council elections will be held a little over one year
from now, on March 7th, 2018. Having consulted with me, the National Electoral
Commission (NEC) will also announce that the presidential elections shall take
place on the same date. With my Government’s support, NEC and the National
Registration Commission have further indicated their readiness to commence
registration for electoral and related activities.
My Government is also in the concluding phase
of a White Paper for a new constitution. As provided by law, this will be
tabled in Parliament in due course. If enacted by Parliament and in line with
ECOWAS protocols on democracy, a referendum on the new constitution will take
place before the end of September this year.
Fellow Sierra Leoneans, our country is building a democracy. We
have held regular elections since 1996. During every one of our four general
elections since that year, we have moved forward to take charge of our destiny,
strengthen our democratic agencies and create greater awareness on the
relevance of participation for everybody, in every town, in every district and
every region of our country. Today, I call on all Sierra Leoneans to continue
to support this strengthening of our democracy. And no better way exists to
render this support than in ensuring that we all register, that we all show
discipline and civility, that we obey the rules and regulations set forth for
the conduct of free and fair elections. Registration is the first step to
making sure that your preferences are accurately reflected in the new
constitution, and that the new government enjoys your mandate.
Democratic discipline requires the awareness that if you belong to
a party, that party is bigger than you. The place of political parties in our
constitution is sacrosanct; no member of a political party is above the rules
and regulations of his or her party; but no political party is above the laws
of our country. As President, I am under oath to maintain law and order, peace,
security, and the democratic character of the Republic of Sierra Leone. And I
will use all the powers vested in my office to continue to ensure peace,
security, law and order during the electoral cycle.
Fellow Sierra Leoneans, announcement of the dates for elections is
not an announcement for the start of the campaign period. The commencement of
the campaign period will be announced by NEC. When that time comes, we expect
every party and every individual to follow the rules and regulations set forth
by the appropriate authorities. Political activity is no excuse for breaking
the law. My government is determined to ensure peaceful and orderly elections;
and anyone caught disturbing the peace or violating the laws in the name of
campaigning or other political activities will meet the full force of the law.
We applaud our international friends for their continued support
to the consolidation of our democracy. Elections are a tedious process; they
require patience, tenacity and understanding of a country’s social and
political complexities. We have demonstrated our commitment to free and fair
elections; and we will not yield to electoral models and practices that would
be vulnerable to hacking, manipulation and other negative external influences.
Elections are an expensive enterprise and the fact we are
conducting a national registration, referendum, local council, parliamentary
and presidential elections requires substantial resources. My government has
already committed billions of Leones to the exercise and we are engaging our
international partners to support us fill some of the funding gaps and capacity
needs we have identified in the elections process. These engagements are
critical to the overall success of the elections. That is why we are insisting
that these partnerships must render elections that are free, fair, credible and
reflective of the will of the Sierra Leonean people.
I strongly believe that Sierra Leone will once
again deliver free, fair and credible elections. Though we still face
challenges, our democracy is growing stronger; our resolve to build on our
democratic gains remains unshakeable; and together, men and women of goodwill
in all parties, both within and outside the country, young and old, in the
executive, parliament and the judiciary, in every profession and field of
endeavour, together, this country will continue to be a beacon of unity of
purpose, freedom, justice and democracy.
No comments:
Post a Comment