PV Staff
There has been a recent war of words between Honourable Saa Lamina of the C4C (Coalition for Change) political party and the EU Ambassador Manuel Müller. Muller is accused of interfering too much in the political affairs of Sierra Leone not only by Lamina but also by government supporters and other Sierra Leoneans on social media concerned about the sovereignty of the country. Some have even called for Muller to be deported while others advised caution because, they argued, Sierra Leone will be in serious trouble in all spheres of life if the EU man is deported.
The government of Sierra Leone has so far avoided formally complaining about Muller.
Foreign diplomats, especially Western diplomats, often publicly comment on the politics of Sierra Leone, one of the poorest countries in the world, although rich in minerals. Muller, according to many observers, stands out as the most vocal, perhaps because of the huge amount of money donated by the EU for all kinds of development projects in Sierra Leone. Muller has however denied these accusations and allegations.
We present below a report by the Press Attache at the Sierra Leone embassy in Brussels who was present when Lamina spoke at the meeting. We also publish the reaction of the EU office in Freetown, Sierra Leone, headed by Manuel Muller..
C4C Leader in Parliament requests for Amb Muller to be called to order for political interference
Leader of the Second largest opposition Party in Sierra Leone Hon. Saa Emerson Lamina has requested from members of the Joint ACP- EU Joint Parliamentary Committee on Political Affairs to call to order the EU Ambassador to Sierra Leone Manuel Muller for interfering in the politics of Sierra Leone.
Speaking during the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly Hon. Lamina stated that it is sad to note that some faction of the International Community who should support Sierra Leone’s democratic gains are rather undermining it through their actions.
The Honourable cited Amb. Muller, whom he said "has become the mouthpiece and an extension of the main Opposition Party - The APC".
The C4C leader informed the ACP-EU Parliamentarians as he catalogued the actions of Ambassador Muller as firstly he (Muller) has been on record of interfering in recent parliamentary bye-election in Constituency 056. He stated that though the Ambassador was not an accredited observer, "he was seen on a motor bike moving from one polling station to another polling station making unsavory statements about the President and his Government"
Furthermore, Hon Saa Emerson Lamina cited another means of interference of the EU Ambassador on the work of the Electoral Commission, an Independent body.
He alleges that Amb. Muller has on many occasions attempted to influence its Chairman and commissioners as the Ambassador has been on record saying : “ that in Makeni, the main opposition stronghold, I saw a huge crowd of people turning out to register; where as in Bo, the governing Party stronghold, people were few. How come now that more people registered in Bo than Makeni”.
Hon Lamina assert that "this is an inciting comment that has the propensity of creating instability in our country".
On the issue of the Propotional Representation that the country will be using in the forth coming elections, Hon Emerson Lamina stated that in 2020, the EU in Sierra Leone supported a consultative conference of political actors and civil society to discuss electoral reforms in Sierra Leone. One key recommendation from the conference was the adoption of the proportional representation system as the form of elections in Sierra Leone.
On that basis, in Nov. 2022, President Juilus Maada pursuant to section 38A of the constitution of Sierra Leone directed that elections be conducted using the PR System,
"Amb. Muller also opposed it contrary to the position earlier adopted in an EU sponsored consultative conference in 2020.
On other occassion, the Hon stated that, Amb. Muller referred to a democratically elected Government as a ‘faction’ during the August 10th".
The C4C Leader in Parliament called on the Members of Parliament in his motion to "hereby move that the EU immediately calls Amb. Muller to order as this will save our democracy".
A representative from the European Union Action Services (EEAS) took note of the motion and informed the gathering that they will look into the issue, as EU it is their responsibility to strengthen bilateral relationship with countries.
Betty Milton
Information Attache
Brussels
324 67605529
Kadiebetty@gmail.com
DELEGATION TO THE REPUBLIC OF SIERRA LEONE
FREETOWN, 02, MARCH 2023
PRESS RELEASE
The European Union Delegation to Sierra Leone has taken note of an intervention of the Hon. Member of Parliament, Emerson Lamina, in the framework of a meeting of Parliamentarians of the EU-ACP group in Brussels on 1 March 2023.
The European Union Delegation was surprised about the content of the petition of Hon. Emerson Lamina, mainly focusing on allegations against the European Union which do not correspond with facts.
On 13 February, H.E. President Bio visited Brussels and had fruitful meetings with the Commissioner forInternational Partnership, Jutta Urpilainen,the High Representative for Foreign and Security Affairs and Vice President of the EU Commission, Josep Borrell, as well as with the President of the Council of the European Union, H.E. Charles Michel who invited H.E. President Bio to a private dinner.
The tone and content of the statement of Hon. Emerson Lamina does not correspond with the strong partnership and good relations between Sierra Leone and the European Union as confirmed during the recent meetings that H. E. President Bio held in Brussels, which showed a clear alignment in principles, values and interests between the EU and Sierra Leone.
The European Union Delegation considers the statement of Hon. Emerson Lamina an unfortunate and unnecessary incident which does not reflect the longstanding good relations between the European Union and Sierra Leone.
Concerning the allegations of Hon. Emerson Lamina, the European Union Delegation to Sierra Leone wishes to issue the following clarifications:
1. The European Union has participated in diplomatic watch exercises coordinated with other international partnersin recent by-elections, including in constituency 056 in Tonkolili district. Allstaff of EU Delegation and other partners who participated in the electoral watch, including the EU Ambassador, were officially accredited at the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone as “International Observer” and followed the usual code of conduct for observers. No statements were made in that context. The EU Ambassador and other watchers of the EU Delegation behaved with full respect
towards all electoral stakeholders and citizens and discretion. The presence of the international watchers was recognised and appreciated by stakeholders and citizens in the field. After the byelections, the European Union Delegation and other international partners briefed the Chief Electoral
Commissioner on their observations.
2. The quote that Hon. Emerson Lamina has attributed to the EU Ambassador with regard to voter registration does not correspond with facts.
The European Union is a longstanding and strong partner of Sierra Leone in the area of electoral support. The European Union Delegation has an excellent working relation with the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone including on election observation and in the framework of projects the European Union is financing to support Electoral Management Bodies to conduct peaceful, inclusive, transparent and credible electoral processes, with integrity and effectiveness. The European Union
provides technical assistance to the Commission and has supported its communication and gender and inclusion strategies. Within this framework , an amicable dialogue takes place regularly between EUROPEAN UNION
DELEGATION TO THE REPUBLIC OF SIERRA LEONE the EU Delegation and the Electoral Commission. In that regard, the European Union Delegationcommends the open door policy of the ECSL Chairperson.
3. As a question of principle, the European Union Delegation has no position on the electoral system that the Sierra Leonean authorities have decided to use for the conduct of 2023 elections and the EU Ambassador has never made any statement on the electoral system.
4. The allegations made by Hon. Emerson Lamina concerning statements of the EU
Ambassadoron the 10 August events do not correspond with facts.
In general, the European Union Delegation wishes to underline the following:
The European Union believes that a strong democracy, with free, transparent, peaceful, credible, multi-party and multi-candidate elections, which give a chance to all voters to express their will and to all candidates to contest without impediment, greatly contributes to long-term peace and stability.
The EU does not favour specific political parties or candidates. The EU worldwide supports processes which allow that at the end of the day, elections are free, transparent, credible and inclusive, so that the people’s will is fully taken into consideration.
The EU therefore since 1996 has been supporting Sierra Leone Electoral Management Bodies’
work for peaceful, inclusive, transparent, multi-party and multi-candidate elections. EU Electoral Observation Missions were deployed in Sierra Leone in the last 3 general elections, in 2007, 2012 and 2018.
The EU and its Member States have committed over 7 million Euro to support transparent, inclusive, credible and peaceful elections in Sierra Leone in 2023. Team Europe supports the project “Fostering Peaceful, Credible and Inclusive Elections in Sierra Leone 2022-2023” implemented by UNDP (contributions from Ireland and from the EU) and the ECOWAS Regional Programme “Peace and Security Architecture and Operations” (contributions from Germany and from the EU).
EU’s electoral support is strictly non-partisan and aimed at building the institutional capacity of electoral management bodies and civil society organisations to effective, inclusive and peaceful electoral operations. The Electoral Commission (ECSL), Political Parties Regulation Commission (PPRC), Police and the Judiciary are amongst the beneficiaries of EU funded technical assistance implemented by ECOWAS, UNDP, International IDEA and DAI.
EU supports Civil Society Organisations as good governance and development actors, and therefore promotes domestic observation and citizens’ engagement in support to the inclusion of youth, women and people living with disability in electoral processes, as well as community-based conflict prevention and mediation.
Manuel Muller, EU Ambassador to Sierra Leone
Comments