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{
    "id": 1266883,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1266883/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 76,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Mungatana, MGH",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "drawn from various AU Member States comprising AU organs, notably, the Pan African Parliament, to Sierra Leone. The short-term observers, led by H.E. Hailemariam Boshe, the former Prime Minister of the People’s Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, were mandated to assess and report on the degree to which the conduct of the elections met international standards for democratic elections. I was privileged to have represented the Parliament of Kenya and led the PAP delegation in the mission. The mission undertook multiple pre-election activities including sensitization workshops for observers; mapping of polling centres and consultations with major stakeholders in the country among them, the National Electoral Commission, the Independent Commission for Peace and National Cohesion, the office of National Security, His Excellency the President, Julius Bio, who was seeking re-election, and Dr. Samura Kamara who was the main opposition contender. Throughout the consultations, the Mission underscored the need for a peaceful and credible electoral process. Mr. Speaker, Sir, 13 candidates, 12 men and one woman, declared interest in the presidential seat. The incumbent, H.E. Julius Bio of the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) retained the seat having emerged the winner with 56.17 per cent. In addition to the presidential seat, 135 parliamentary and 493 local council seats were in contention. The elections for Members of Parliament and councillors were conducted by the Proportional Representation (PR) system as opposed to the first-past- the-post system that was used for the presidential and mayoral elections. This meant that the people elected political parties of choice instead of directly voting for individual candidates. The AU Mission observed voting in 219 polling stations in 13 of the 16 electoral districts in Sierra Leone. The observation mainly focussed on factors that would impact the integrity of the elections and encompassed among others, the accessibility, staffing, security, delivery and adequacy of voting materials in the polling stations. The overall assessment of the Mission was that the elections were relatively peaceful, conducted in accordance with the laws of Sierra Leone and were credible. Mr. Speaker, Sir, despite the overall peaceful conduct of the general elections, isolated incidents of violence were reported in various areas throughout the electoral process. These acts of violence serve as a reminder of the ongoing work required to strengthen democratic practices and foster a culture of peaceful political engagement not only in Sierra Leone, but also in countries across Africa where such is witnessed in almost every election cycle. Mr. Speaker, Sir, in the run-up to the elections, there were also heightened tensions fuelled by misinformation, disinformation and hate speech propelled throughout social media. At the initiative of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) and the Independent Radio Network (IRN) in the country, iVerify, which is a technology- based fact-checking platform, was launched to proactively identify and respond to misinformation, disinformation and hate speech. This was a remarkable initiative that worked to counter threats that had the potential to disrupt peace and security. Mr. Speaker, Sir, noteworthy, civil society organizations (CSOs) in Sierra Leone played a very vital role in ensuring the conduct of peaceful and transparent elections."
}