By Elkass Sannoh, Judiciary Communications, Sierra Leone
We acknowledge and appreciate the role of the European Union (EU) in supporting our democratic consolidation efforts, but we respectfully disagree with some of the findings/statements of the recent mission to the country. In some ways, the bases of some of the statements were flawed.
It was quite misleading to have stated that the Judiciary should have ordered fresh elections after annulling the elections in which the 10 APC MPs were elected. To be clear, those elections were never annulled or declared void by the court. In other words, the reference to Public Elections Act was unnecessary.
In the case of Osman A. Timbo, for example, the Court stated that, "the 1st Respondent Osman Abdal Timbo was not duly elected or returned as Member of Parliament for Constituency 130 Western Urban District in the Western Area of the Republic of Sierra Leone on 7th day of March 2018", adding that "the 1st Respondent’s declaration as winner by the National Returning Officer is hereby nullified as his candidature to run for the election on same was illegal ab initio."
Clearly, the Courts did not nullify the elections that affected the 10 MPs who were disqualified. Importantly, for those elections that were annulled or declared void (like in Constituency 110), fresh elections were ordered. The EU Mission could have done a better job of understanding the facts and putting out a statement that reflects same.
Let us allow the Judiciary to be independent and dispense justice within its mandate.
We are committed to continuing the ongoing reforms in the judiciary and work in the interest of the people.
Photo: Honourable Justice Desmond Babatunde Edwards, Chief Justice of Sierra Leone.
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