President Julius Maada Bio is strongly behind the election review process

President Bio Is Solidly Behind Elections Review Process, Says Co-Chair Of Tripartite Committee Freetown, 7th February, 2024 Co-Chair of the Tripartite Committee, sanctioned by H.E. President Julius Maada Bio, Dr. Emmanuel Gaima, has said that for the President to remove his appointees from the committee and allow the process to continue, is the ultimate demonstration of his commitment to the process. Dr. Gaima made this statement whilst giving an update on the purpose and mission of the Tripartite Committee at a special press conference, hosted by the Minister of Information and Civic Education, Mr. Chernor Bah at the New Brookfields Hotel in Freetown, on Tuesday 6th February 2023. Dr. Gaima informed the audience, which included the United Nations Resident Coordinator, Seraphine Wakana, the leadership of the All People’s Congress (APC) Party, the US Ambassador to Sierra Leone, members of the diplomatic community, and representatives of Civil Society or organizations that as a representative of the Government of Sierra Leone on the committee, he can say without any hesitation that President Julius Maada Bio is solidly behind the reform of the electoral process in the country, adding that in his maiden speech to Parliament after the June 24 elections, he made it unequivocally clear that among his priorities, was to see the reformation of electoral laws, processes a, and procedures in Sierra Leone. According to Dr. Gaima, the Committee will look at all the various issues that form the basis for the examination of past election results and processes and come out with their recommendations, which they will present to President Bio. Dr. Gaima also made it very clear in his address the Tripartite Committee has no mandate to recommend a re-run of the 2023 Elections and all expectations about such a scenario are just speculations. Making his submission, Co-Chair of the Committee for APC, Dr. Kaifala Marah, stated that as far as he is concerned, he is satisfied with the work done so far by the committee, adding that throughout the six months of the existence of the Tripartite Committee t, hey looked at several areas regarding the recent election and past elections with comes with recommendations that would assist the government to reform the electoral system of the country. He mentioned the recommendations they would eventually come up with would be genuine and devoid of political party bias. On her part, Resident Coordinator for the United Nations in Sierra Leone, Seraphine Wakana said she is optimistic that the work of the tripartite Committee is very transparent, inclusive, and interactive and that the outcome would lead to recommendations that would chart the way forward for reform of Sierra Leone’s election management bodies (EMBs) and processes. She urged the concerned parties to continue the dialogue and to put the interest of Sierra Leone first. The meeting climaxed with the signing of the Tripartite Agreement by the respective co-chairs and the UN Resident Coordinator, followed by a question and answer session.