The chairman of the main opposition All People’s Congress (APC) party, Alfred Peter Conteh has ordered the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL) to publish the data for the 2023 election results.

The APC Chairman, in an open letter to the Commission, said that a publication of the results will clear all doubts as to who won the 2023 presidential election. He further said that a release of the results would justify the claims made by the APC that they won the 2023 presidential election. Conteh said that this claim by the APC could mean that the then-incumbent Julius Maada Bio couldn’t have won in the first round as announced by the ECSL.

He said, “curtail this democratic fiasco on behalf of all peace-loving Sierra Leoneans, and for the sake of democracy, peace, and stability in Sierra Leone, I submit that the ECSL release the nationwide disaggregated results of 24th June 2023 to put this avoidable disgraceful aspect of our country’s image behind us.”

Conteh furthered that the refusal of Commissioner Mohamed Konneh to publish the results has deprived Sierra Leoneans of their rights.

“It is an electoral injustice. Electoral injustice must be vehemently frowned upon by all Sierra Leoneans, not just the APC supporters,” Conteh said.

The APC Chairman said the ECSL’s refusal to release the results will only dampen “the integrity of the ECSL” under the leadership of Konneh.

He further made a clarion call to his APC compatriots to join him in requesting “the nationwide disaggregated results of 24th June”.

He concluded by affirming the publication of the results is a “moral obligation” of the ECSL and will further put to rest the doubts posed by some observers and Sierra Leoneans about who won the presidential election in 2023.

Critics of Conteh said they remain surprised by his recent stance considering that he was among the few senior APC members who openly congratulated Maada Bio on his reelection in June last year. Be what it may be, it is clear that the APC Chairman is serious about this request and looking at his records, could take further actions against the ECSL.