Even a blind man can see that there is an obvious lack of peace in the main opposition All Peoples Congress (APC) party. Actually, this lack of peace is the cause of most if not all of the issues affecting the party. Concerned supporters and members, even a party elder have blamed the lack of peace as the main reason for the party losing the presidential elections in 2018 and 2023.
In the final analysis, the only way forward for the party to make any significant attempt to wrestle State House from its present occupant and whoever the ruling Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP) government will field as the next flagbearer for the 2028 elections is for the party to unify and allow peace free reign. Peace must be allowed to reign at all levels of the party from ward to district to constituency.
The first sign that the party is serious about reclaiming the presidency is for the unconditional return of all exiled partisans, those who left the party for whatever reason in whatever manner. This condition that has been imposed on certain people returning to the party sounds personal, something people can call a witch hunt,” said a concerned party executive.The top APC executive and potential flagbearer said the party must consider the respect, support, and admiration certain partisans command in their regions or spheres of influence. He made a salient example to amplify his concern.
At the recent party registration slated for Kailahun, certain executives who were there to do the registration were refused accommodation by APC supporters in Kailahun who asked the APC executives why they were not with Sam Sumana, asking ‘Where is Sam Sumana?’. So while the party executives believe that they are liked and respected enough by the party’s supporters around the country, they did not count on the people having their own choice or idea of who is important to them and especially who they want as their representatives, their mayors, councillors, and flagbearer.The incident in Kailahun should remind the APC executive that they have not been listening to the people that voted for them to lead the party,” said the APC executive.
If the APC wants assurance of winning future elections against SLPP candidates, be they at ward, district, or constituency level up to the presidency, then they must ensure that peace reigns throughout the party, starting with peace within the executive.
The party has allowed for a lack of peace to affect all its operations and decisions, which have resulted in them losing two presidential elections and their majority in the House of Parliament. Far from an executive decision, the choice of the party’s next flagbearer after Dr. Samura Kamara should be in the sole preserve of the party’s grassroots supporters and members who form the bulk of the party’s voting bloc.
The people in Kailahun asked for Sam Sumana because they are aware of how the party’s executives have treated him, especially the conditions and restrictions imposed on him which the party could avert if they want to by amending the constitution to clear his way. Sam Sumana is still very popular with the party’s grassroots who believe that if he had been Dr. Samura Kamara’s running mate and being from Kono would have assured an APC victory that would have been so convincing no amount of crooked mathematics from the electoral commission would have resulted in President Bio being named the winner of last year’s presidential elections.
But the party’s executive allowed for whatever grievances they had with Sam Sumana to cloud their judgement and vision of what is best for the party and country. If the party wants to win in 2028, they should have everyone that left the party return unconditionally and without any restrictions. Politics and elections are about numbers, and many of these people that left, that have returned or are planning to return command great respect, admiration, and support in their regions. If Sam Sumana was considered, the votes the APC lost from C4C that went to the SLPP wouldn’t have happened,” said the APC strong man.
The APC, as a matter of expediency, should heed the wise words of the party elder who advised that the party’s executive reconcile and let bygones be bygones and forgive any and all “sins” by the returning partisans in the interest of winning State House to save the suffering people of Sierra Leone from all tribes, regions, and parties. For the last two election seasons, the lack of peace has seen the party losing elections, by hook or crook. It is high time the party returns to the drawing board to re-strategize, only this time as a unified party coexisting in peace.
“The people of Sierra Leone from all the parties, tribes, and regions know and believe that the APC is the true grassroots party. They know from our administration track record that all things are possible under APC rule, that there will be no or negligible hardships, that the prices will drop back down to affordable levels, that subsidies will be in place for rice, fuel, and education.
They also know that we will get our free weekend calls from the mobile companies to help ease our expenditures as a people; and they certainly know that there will be an end to state-sponsored violence and orders from above that circumvent the rule of law. But the only way forward for the APC if we want to win any future elections is for us to come back together in peace. In politics, everyone and their opinions and choices matter and must be treated with utmost respect and consideration. Not every idea will work, but the people must know that their leaders are responsive to them and considerate of their ideas,” the APC elder said in closing.
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