The African Union, the Economic Community of West African States, and the Commonwealth are mediating between the Government of Sierra Leone and the All Peoples Congress Party following the June 2023 elections.
The opposition All People's Congress Party had resolved to refrain from participating in all governance processes on allegations of election malpractices, leading to their demanding for the display of disaggregated results.
This abstinence had prompted several calls for peace dialogues among stakeholders, to which the opposition had refused, citing distrust in and state capture of institutions. Their condition to consider a mediation had been only with the involvement of external bodies.
The mediation team, led by former Gambian Vice President Aja Fatoumata C.M Jallow-Tambajang, has met with key stakeholders in Sierra Leone, including President Julius Maada Bio, APC presidential candidate Dr Samura Kamara, cabinet ministers, the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone, civil society organizations, and the diplomatic corps.
The mediation process will take place from October 16 to 18, 2023 at the Bintumani Hotel in Freetown.
The mediation team calls on all parties to engage in open and frank discussions in good faith with the aim of finding a lasting solution to the issues at stake.
It also calls on the parties to refrain from inflammatory statements in the media that could jeopardize the mediation process.
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