Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan earlier this month launched a report titled Deepening
Democracy: A
Strategy for Improving the Integrity of Elections Worldwide This must-read
report takes a global view at the electoral process and how situations, most of
them ugly, are created when democratic principles are thrown into the furnace
as the desperate try to seize power or hold on to power using what can only be
described as a lip service to democracy and the integrity of elections. It also
highlights the benefits of conducting free, fair and participatory elections by
an independent electoral body free from the corrupt influences of the
Executive, Legislative and indeed the Judiciary. Indeed as he points out in the
"Forward" of the report -
"In country after country, people
have risked their lives to call for free elections, democratic accountability,
the rule of law and respect for human rights. Elections are the indispensable
root of democracy. They are now almost universal. Since 2000, all but 11
countries have held national elections. But to be credible, we need to see high
standards before, during and after votes are cast. Opposition organizations
must be free to organize and campaign without fear. There must be a level
playing field among candidates. On polling day, voters must feel safe and trust
the secrecy and integrity of the ballot. And when the votes have been counted
the result must be accepted no matter how disappointed the defeated candidates
feel."
This report should be carefully read by all political
parties, all civil society groups, all stake holders in Sierra Leone's
democracy with a view to taking the right decisions, making the right and legal
moves that would ensure that no Sierra Leonean is deprived of his/her right of
freedom of political expression, participation and ownership. Long gone should
be those times when nominations days were declarations of war against the
opposition and equally, we hope would be long gone the days when election
petitions are never decided by the courts no matter how many petitions were
brought by losing candidates who were of the considered opinion that illegal
methods were used to deprive them and their supporters of a free vote. The
integrity of elections hinges on the strict observance of the rule of law—the
capacity and norms that ensure that governments are accountable by law, that
citizens are equal under the law, that lawmaking and enforcing are not
arbitrary, and that laws respect human rights. When applied to elections, this
means that action must be taken against incumbents or entrenched political
interests seeking to manipulate the electoral process. Strong independent
courts are needed to protect the rights of all voters, political parties and
candidates, to enforce free and fair electoral procedures, and to prosecute
violations of the electoral process. For elections to have integrity, electoral
justice must be done, and citizens must see that it is done.Independent and effective courts must therefore be set up to deal with such petitions swiftly and such decisions should not be weighted in favour of the ruling party. Indeed as noted in Kofi Anan’s new report
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