The newly elected Publicity Secretary of Sierra Leone’s main opposition, the All Peoples Congress (APC) Party, Sidi Yayah Tunis on 27 February 2023, warned the party not to do the selection of the Running Mate in haste.

According to Tunis, the party’s flag bearer, Samura Kamara is to be given enough time to deliberate carefully over the selection of the person that will be his running mate.

He noted that Kamara has just been elected flagbearer of the Party, and he has a corruption case hanging over his head.

The Publicity Secretary stated that the process of selecting a running mate is duty-bound upon the flagbearer and not party members.

He described Samura Kamara as no stranger to Sierra Leone’s politics.

Tunis said the Flagbearer has served the country in various capacities, as a civil servant and politician which he said, means that Samura knows exactly who to appoint as his running mate to face President Julius Maada Bio of the Ruling Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP) come June 24, 2023.

However, Sources within the Party indicate that Samura Kamara is considering Regional, Gender, and Religious balance for the running mate appointment.

He continued that Chernor Maju Bah was handpicked by Former President, Ernest Bai Koroma for the 2018 election, adding that this time round, the selection of a running mate should be done carefully.

Yvonne Aki Sawyer would have been a good choice had she not been a Christian by Religion because we have Women Empowerment as political agender for this election,” he asserted.

In another development, Tunis called on the Sierra Leone Police (SLP) to provide a level playing field for all political parties during the election.

He said the Police should not reduce themselves to being the Ruling Party operators against other Registered Political Parties within the country.