Kamara points out that the military shot and surrounded his office: “This is an assassination attempt”
June 26 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Sierra Leone opposition party, the All People’s Congress (APC), denounced an attack on its headquarters this Sunday, one day after general elections were held in the country, in elections marked by the economic crisis and the protests registered in the capital, Freetown, due to the increase in the cost of living.
The APC leader, Samura Kamara, has denounced that “he has been entrenched” at his party headquarters during his press conference, in an incident in which “government forces” have attacked his offices with shots and tear gas.
Kamara has reported that there are remains of direct shots against the door of his office, while there are “people lying on the ground”, foreign journalists “trapped” in the office” and the military “have surrounded the building”: “This is an assassination attempt,” he asserted.
Freetown Mayor Yvonne Aki Sawyerr, an APC affiliate, asked for help through her profile on the social network Twitter on Sunday afternoon from the headquarters of the training.
“I am in the office of the APC party and they are shooting at us. It is tear gas and what appears to be live ammunition. There are about twenty of us on the floor of the office. The shooting continues. We need help, please,” he said.
OBSERVATION MISSIONS ASK FOR TRANSPARENCY
The election observation missions of the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have called on the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone (ECSL) to “stand firm and fulfill its obligations, without falling under pressure, to maintain the credibility of the institution” and to diligently carry out the counting process within the established period.
According to a joint statement, both institutions have praised the Sierra Leonean people “for their commitment to democracy and their civic duties by going to vote” and have expressed their “admiration for the discipline of the voters and the peaceful way in which they behaved.”
For its part, the European Union electoral observation mission has shown its concern about the counting process and has stressed the “importance that all observers have access to all critical tabulation steps.”
“Given the highly polarized political environment and prevailing mistrust, it is imperative that the Sierra Leone Electoral Commission provide full transparency during the tabulation of results to ensure confidence in the electoral process,” said the head of the Sierra Leone mission. the EU, Evin Incir.
The Carter Center, which specializes in election observation, has also expressed concern about reports of a lack of transparency and has called for patience in counting votes.
“The Carter Center calls for maximum transparency in the coming days as election officials complete the tabulation of the votes and prepare to publish the final results,” he said in a statement calling on the ECSL to allow the verification of the results.
The electoral authorities of Sierra Leone began this Sunday the counting of votes for the elections held the day before, which took place between certain delays in the schools and complaints of fraud and violence by the opposition.
The country’s president, Julius Maada Bio, acknowledged on Saturday, after casting his ballot in the country’s capital, Freetown, certain “obstacles” in the voting process, which he described in any case as isolated incidents typical of the democratic process.
More critical was his great rival in the elections, Samura Kamara, who expressed his disappointment about the delay in the opening of several schools, and denounced the lack of electoral material in various parts of the country, according to the Sierra Leonean newspaper ‘The Calabash’.
