For the past week Sierra Leoneans have been glued to their radio sets, waiting patiently for final results as officials of the National Electoral Commission (NEC) continue to tally ballots from the historic presidential and parliamentary elections that ended last Saturday.
The August 11 elections to elect President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah’s successor and a 112-member Parliament were the most contentious ever in Sierra Leone. The second elections to be held since the conflict ended in 2002, the 2007 elections are significant because they were organised, managed and administered by Sierra Leoneans, with the support of the international community.
The professionalism of NEC officials, the determination of Sierra Leoneans from all walks of life to participate in the process and, above all, the hard work of the Sierra Leone police, who provided security for voters, combined to produce what has so far been widely acclaimed as a peaceful and credible electoral process.
Of the seven candidates who contested the presidential elections, three emerged as front-runners and, although only a tiny fraction of the votes have been tallied so far — the electoral law provides that final results must be certified within 12 days of voting — indications are that a clear winner will emerge only after a second round of voting.
The ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), led by Sierra Leonean Vice-President Solomon Berewa, faced stiff competition from the All People’s Congress (APC), led by Ernest Bai Koroma, and the People’s Movement for Democratic Change (PMDC), headed by Charles Francis Margai.
The outcome is crucial to the consolidation of democracy and peace in Sierra Leone. For one thing, it will be the first civilian transfer of power since the country gained independence in 1961. But, more importantly, it will give the country the opportunity to begin to address its developmental challenges in a serious and comprehensive manner. Although the country’s decade-long armed conflict ended five years ago, there is a clear sense among the population that many of the structural problems that led to conflict still persist.
The desire for change was demonstrated by the high voter turnout on election day and the close results announced so far. The ruling party has been under pressure to defend its record, particularly in the five years since the war ended, suggesting that there is a level of desperation on the part of the population for delivery on the peace dividend.
Another key factor in the elections was the breakÂÂaway of the PMDC from the ruling SLPP, causing serious problems for the latter, especially in its historic stronghold of the southern and eastern regions.
The formation of the PMDC by Margai in 2005 can be interpreted as a protest against the SLPP, which has historically been his political home. The son of Sierra Leone’s second post-independence prime minister, Sir Albert Margai, the younger Margai undoubtedly was aggrieved by the manner in which the party of his birth ”humiliated” him in the run-up to the contest to elect Kabbah’s successor within the SLPP.
Margai’s departure from the party earned him support in parts of the south and east, where many SLPP supporters were aggrieved by the incarceration of Chief Sam Hingha Norman, a former deputy defence minister and head of the civil defence force, whose indictment for war crimes and crimes against humanity by the Special Court for Sierra Leone, and subsequent death in detention, was seen by his supporters as a betrayal by the SLPP, a party that he fought so hard to defend during the war.
As it becomes more likely that a second round of voting will take place, the ruling SLPP and the opposition APC are now working aggressively to court Margai and his supporters, Margai having clearly emerged from these elections as the ”king-maker.” His supporters will unquestionably play a decisive role in a second round of voting.
There are speculations that, although Margai is still bitter about how he was arrogantly dismissed by the leadership of the SLPP, he and his supporters will nonetheless throw their weight behind the ruling party if the latter makes serious overtures to them. In short, serious political horse-trading is taking place behind the scenes.
On the domestic front in Sierra Leone, the message from the elections is clear. The incoming leadership — from whichever party emerges victorious — must work hard to unite the country but, most importantly, begin to address seriously the challenges of endemic poverty, youth unemployment and infrastructure development.
Dr Abdul Lamin teaches in the department of international relations at Wits University. A citizen of Sierra Leone, he is in that country to observe the elections