Sierra Leone Telegraph: 3 February 2018
Dr. Kandeh Yumkella has won an appeal filed by the ruling APC at the head office of the country’s National Electoral Commission (NEC) in Freetown, against the decision of the Kambia District NEC Office to throw out an objection brought by the party’s candidate in Kambia.
The intention of the APC objection was to disqualify Dr Yumkella from contesting the 2018 elections.
The application filed by Mr. Sankoh – the ruling APC candidate for the Kambia Constituency 62, claimed that:
“Dr. Kandeh Kolleh Yumkella with voter identification card number 2282101 is a dual citizen of the Republic of Sierra Leone and the United States of America in violation of section 76(1a) of the Constitution of Sierra Leone Act No 6 of 1991 and the Public Elections (Act No 4) of 2012……….“Dr. Kandeh Kolleh Yumkella with voter identification card number 2282101 said openly on the 18th Day of January 2018 in a Press Conference that he holds a dual citizenship and that he has renounced same.”
But the District Returning Officer – Mr Umaru Fomba ruled on the 24th of January 2018 that: “Having looked at the objection before me and with reference to both sections 76 (1a) and 63 (Act No.4) of the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone and the Public Elections Act of 2012 respectively, I have considered the explanations submitted in support of the objection and I have concluded that the evidence is insufficient to reverse the provisional nomination of Yumkella Kandeh Kolleh.”
But dissatisfied with that ruling, the ruling APC then decided to make an appeal at the NEC Office in Freetown. And it has once again lost its efforts to have Dr Yumkella kicked out of the 2018 elections.
On the 29th of January 2018, NEC officials in Freetown ruled that they see no material difference in the evidence submitted by the APC in Kambia to that which was submitted in its appeal in Freetown, and that therefore Dr Yumkella cannot be excluded from the 2018 elections.
This is Dr Yumkella speaking on AYV TV about this latest NEC ruling and other issues regarding the NGC party and the forthcoming elections:
https://youtu.be/zNJ20PF1Ncw
You can read the Freetown ruling below:
THE PROFESSIONALISM OF THE NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION.
In the entire saga of the eligibility of Dr Yumkella to contest the forthcoming elections, a significant number of us have not had time to closely watch and recognise the exemplary independence and professionalism which the NEC have courageously displayed in executing their duties.
In the face of withering psychological pressure which NEC must be surely feeling from APC, N’fah Alie and his team have ruled not once but twice in the Yumkella case against APC – the party in power.
The temptation, thus, to declare that come election day Sierra Leoneans will cast their vote without fear or intimidation, can hardly be resisted. This should bolster such confidence in the results that no one can question their legitimacy.
Within APC circles N’fah Alie is slowly becoming a curse rather than the blessing they had anticipated when assessing him for the job to head NEC. N’fah was to be used as part of the 99 tactics which APC have always boasted about in winning fraudulent elections, but it is a prop that now stands on shaky grounds.
Knowing APC, they must be toying with the idea of removing N’fah but such an act would raise powerful eyebrows both at home and abroad.
Just a couple of days ago the American Embassy hosted a dinner for the three main flag bearers, effectively suggesting that the international community is paying attention to everything. One can safely bet one’s life that any stance taken by the Americans on the election process would be supported by the Western world – the current main source of our survival.
The World Bank, IMF and other international financial institutions as well as the UN all have their headquarters in the United States, which makes it much easier for the Americans to impress them with their position on anything. Ernest Koroma can tell us more about what he is going through with the IMF at the moment.
My advise to NEC is please ensure that the crest of the goodwill wave you are riding propels you to the right spot where all Sierra Leoneans would grab you and carry you shoulder high into the history books for posterity.
Kandeh Yumkella is the only real hope for Sierra Leone’s economy for the future. The IMF floated Sierra Leone currency when Joe Amara Bangali was at the Financial Ministry. Sierra Leone’s currency was stable before that. It was nine Leones to one U.S. dollar.
The floatation started as twenty Leones to one U.S dollar. It was part of the IMF conditionality. For a little peanut of dollars, the APC Government destroyed the country’s legal tender, the Leone.
Every good Government has to manage their economy very well instead of taken IMF as your spring board. Late president Tejan Kabba of Sierra leone was not an IMF fan at all because he lived in the West for long as a diasporan and understood what was meant by IMF CREDIT INSTITUTION.
He preferred AID from friendly nations instead of going to Credit Institutions for assistance. During his regime, the Sierra Leone economy was stable and left behind a sound economy after the war. Sierra Leone has another opportunity through KKY if they are smart enough to elect him as president come March 7.
Another thing is that some people are saying KKY never voted in his life failing to remember that Sierra Leone was under a One Party State for 27 years. All this time the vote was YES or NO votes. APC recommended a particular candidate, and if you agreed, the vote was YES, even if everybody voted NO it would still be Yes because that was the APC party recommendation.
Therefore, many Sierra Leoneans stayed away from such elections.
Yumkella’s father was a strong SLPP foundation member, he probably must has told his family to stay away from such elections. The Sierra Leone currency doesn’t need floatation because it only brings hardship for majority of it citizens.
Justice has been served