The West Africa Elders Forum(WAEF) in conjunction with African Union, ECOWAS and Commonwealth has called for calm in Sierra Leone and urged citizens to desist from inflammatory rhetoric that is capable of jeopardizing the nation’s peace and undermining the democratic process of the country.
The heads of international observation missions in Sierra Leone in a joint statement signed by former Nigerian president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, for WAEF, Hailemariam Dasalegn Boshe, Africa Union, Mohamed Ibn Chambas for ECOWAS, and Yemi Obasanjo for Commonwealth, said it was disturbed by the inflammatory language circulating on the social media and appealed to the citizens of Sierra Leone to continue to exercise restraint concerning the outcome of the elections.
In the statement, the leaders stated: “The Heads of International Election Observation Missions present in Sierra Leone: the African Union, ECOWAS, Commonwealth, and the West Africa Elders Forum are concerned by the inflammatory language circulating on social media.”
“The Heads of Missions urge all Sierra Leonians within and outside the country to refrain from any inflammatory language that could lead to violence, loss of lives and the destruction of the country.” The statement read in part.
The Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone(ECSL) late Tuesday declared incumbent President Julius Maada Bio of the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) as the winner of the election with 1,566,932 of the total votes cast against his closest challenger Samura Kamara of the All Peoples Congress (APC) who scored 1,148,262 votes. The 59-year-old President Maada Bio was subsequently sworn in for his second and final five-year term later on Tuesday night. The country has remained largely calm, despite heightened tension ahead of the polls.
According to Wealth Dickson Ominano, Communication Officer, Goodluck Jonathan Foundation, WAEF which is led by the former Nigerian president, had before the election, met with different stakeholders to emphasis the need for peaceful polls.
The team has continued its consultations with the stakeholders on the need to build a consensus towards a peaceful transition,” Wealth said