Eight candidates for president distance themselves from any planned demonstration and refute all of the assertions made by the APC in a recent press statement.
Eight registered political parties with presidential candidates running in the June 24, 2023 multitier elections released a joint statement on May 16, 2023. It was definitely stated that they are required to engage the public on the following topics as the nominated presidential candidates of eight (8) registered political parties ready to participate in the general elections on June 24th:
That they are all active members and participants in the ECSL Political Parties Liaison Committee (PPLC) as eight presidential candidates who represent different registered political parties. They also acknowledge that the ECSL PPLC is made up of stakeholder representatives from ALL political parties and that it meets every two weeks to discuss issues related to the June 24, 2023 elections.
The eight presidential candidates followed by pointing out that the Political Parties Regulation Commission, the Sierra Leone Police, and Civil Society Organizations are active participants in the ECSL-PPLC Stakeholders Engagement.
They also emphasized how they have been active participants in all ECSL stakeholder engagements ever since the beginning of the political process leading up to the elections on June 24, 2023.
These presidential candidates made note of the fact that they acknowledged the APPA had been keeping an eye on the Biometric Voters' Registration (BVR) exercise, which included registration, exhibitions, and the distribution of ID cards nationwide. They said they were happy with the entire process, particularly the parts involving specific Political Parties.
They added that they remembered that all Political Parties at the PPLC praised the ECSL for a successful BVR exercise across the nation and noted that the PPLC had been crucial in making decisions on important ECSL proposals from registration to the present.
The aspirants for the presidency said they remembered that on March 30, 2023, ECSL gave a power-point presentation on the voter cards, outlining their security features and how they differ from the previous cards, emphasizing how crucial the Voter Identification Number (VIN), which is still novel, was.
They also observed that the ECSL-PPLC had taken note of some voter ID cards' low-quality photographs, but claimed that no decision had been made to modify them or stop using them during elections.
Based on the aforementioned observations, the eight candidates for the presidency indicated that they wanted to publicly announce that they had allied with other political parties and election stakeholders to reaffirm their commitment to a peaceful, orderly, and successful election process.
They also argued that even if they acknowledge that certain Voter ID Cards have issues with the pictures on them, these issues do not call for their outright rejection, which would justify their rejection and non-participation in the elections on June 24.
The eight presidential candidates said they want the public to be aware that they have distanced themselves from the All People's Congress press release, which calls for protest and makes a threat to boycott the elections on June 24, 2023.
As presidential candidates for their political parties, they came to the conclusion that they should make it plain that they will not take part in any planned protests or boycotts in order to reassure their supporters and the general public that they will vote on June 24.
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