WASHINGTON, US
The United States government
has imposed visa restrictions on officials it says are responsible for
undermining democracy in Sierra Leone.
The move follows the disputed
June 2023 General Election, which Western observers say lacked transparency.
US Secretary of State Antony
Blinken said on Thursday that the US will impose visa restrictions on officials
who were allegedly involved in the manipulation and rigging of the electoral
process, as well as those involved in alleged acts of intimidating voters,
election observers and civil society activities.
“Under this policy, the United
States will pursue visa restrictions for those believed to be responsible for,
or complicit in, undermining democracy in Sierra Leone, including through the
manipulation or rigging of the electoral process; intimidation of voters,
election observers, or civil society organisations through threats or acts
of physical violence; or the abuse or violation of related human rights in
Sierra Leone,” Mr Blinken said in a statement.
The Electoral Commission of
Sierra Leone (ECSL) came under heavy criticism from Western observers who
slammed the process for lacking transparency, even though some local and
regional observers, including the African Union (AU) and Economic Community of West
African States (Ecowas), cleared it as free and fair.
The main opposition All
People’s Congress (APC) believes the electoral process was rigged to favour the
incumbent, President Julius Maada Bio and his party.
Bio was declared winner of the
presidential race with 56.17 percent of the vote in the first round, while his
Sierra Leone People’s Party won an overwhelming majority in the House of
Parliament.
The APC, whose candidate Dr
Samura Kamara got 41.16 percent of votes, has refused to participate in
governance, boycotting parliament and other lower-level governance structures.
It demanded a re-run of the election.
The opposition party also
refused to seek redress in the courts, citing their lack of independence. It
called on western governments to impose sanctions on the president and his top
officials it holds responsible for allegedly rigging the polls.
But details of the individuals
targeted by the US visa policy weren’t immediately revealed by Secretary
Blinken, who only stated that the policy will apply to “specific individuals”
and not the Sierra Leonean people.
Family members of the targeted
individuals may also be subject to these restrictions, he noted.
“Persons who undermine the
democratic process in Sierra Leone—including in the lead-up to, during, and
following Sierra Leone’s 2023 elections—may be found ineligible for US visas
under this policy,” he said, stressing that the decision reflected the commitment
of the United States to support Sierra Leoneans’ aspirations to have free and
fair elections that “demonstrate the will of the people and strengthen
democracy and the rule of law.”
The US government had asked
the Sierra Leone government to constitute an investigation on the process and
ensure it corrects legal loopholes it believes led to the dispute.
The government appointed a
committee to investigate the matter, but US officials said the wrong
people were entrusted with the task, suggesting instead the constitution of an
independent panel.
President Bio in July angrily
rejected Western interference in the country’s electoral process, declaring
that no outsider had the right to validate the outcome of its elections.
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