The Co-chair of the Tripartite Committee, Dr. Emmanuel Giama has said in Freetown that the establishment of the Committee is the product of the political dialogue between the Government and APC.
He said Government remains committed to the work of the Committee. He said the Committee does not have the mandate to request for a rerun of the June 24th 2023 Presidential, Parliamentary and Local Council elections. He said President Julius Maada Bio dismantled the earlier Committee headed by Vice President Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh which he noted marked demonstration of his commitment to the ongoing process. He noted that their work is guided by the Constitution of Sierra Leone.
“We need Court order to invite the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL), to appear before the Tripartite Committee,” Dr. Giama said recently at the signing of the Terms of Reference. .
Dr. Giama disclosed that Sierra Leone held it’s fifth democratic elections after the eleven years brutal civil war. He emphasized that this is the first elections that the government puts over ninety percent of it’s resources to conduct it, using the revised Public Elections Act 2022, the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone and the revised Political Parties Act among other laws.
He said the government implemented several of the recommendations put by the European Union Observation Mission after the 2018 elections. He noted that there has been some form of electoral review , adding that the
“ECSL conducted the elections, announced the winners and gazetted the names of the winners for Parliamentary and Local Councils.
The United Nations Resident Coordinator said they will keep on track they will be transparent and support the work of the Committee with specific reference to the Terms of Reference. The work of the Tripartite Committee is nationally owned and the United Nations and development partners will support their work.