President of the Republic of Sierra Leone, His Excellency Julius Maada Bio on Tuesday 20th June 2023, ahead of elections, delivered a national address committing to ensuring a free, fair and transparent elections.
In the statement delivered on national televisions and on major online platforms, President Bio remarked on elections tensions and their dangerous potential to lead to bigger issues of unrest, similar to those that sparked the decade long civil war.
He reasoned that memories of this will prevent him from taking actions tantamount to destabilizing the nation's peace currently being experienced, albeit a volatile one.
He outlined actions taken since his inception in office with the goal of ensuring peace, such as the national conference for peace and cohesion dubbed the Bintumani three, the enactment of the Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment law and the stregthening of frameworks protecting women from sexual and gender based violence.
Regarding elections, he outlined that his plans to promote fair elections encouraged him to establish the multi-stakeholder steering committee constituted by representatives of government, foreign bodies, political parties, religious leaders, civil society organizations and more.
He concluded with this year's election slogan of conducting individual actions by it, calling all Sierra Leoneans to vote Saful, go home saful and accept results saful
This address has however left some citizens dissatisfied that President Bio insufficiently addressed concerns brought up by opposition parties which could continue the situation of unrest.
Here's the link to watch the Presidential address: https://fb.watch/lkkKOHqn2q/
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