By Olu Beckley
Some call it a boycott of the SLPP by voters in the North and the Western Area. Others refer to it as a vote based on tribal affiliations. Even Vice President Berewa in an interview with Christo Johnson says he was surprised by the Western Area. But from the small villages to the big cities, the 2007 elections signal the official end of an era of ambition for both the presidency and a parliamentary majority for the SLPP party.
With 62% of the votes counted so far, the overwhelming statement from most parts of the country is this: 84% in the north; 54% in the south; 73% in the Western Rural and 69% in the Western Urban areas, voters have voted against the SLPP and its policies. The SLPP was only able to secure more than 50% of the votes in the Eastern Province where it secured 66% of the votes.
Why have they voted the way they did? The answer is simple, the majority of Sierra Leoneans believe a vote for Ernest Koroma or Charles Margai is a vote for change, while a vote for Solomon Berewa is a vote for the status-quo (same old, same old). Each of them (Ernest and Charles) identifies with the problems the country faces and wants to deal directly with the problems of economic growth; youth unemployment; and lifting over 70% of the population out of poverty.
The 10 year civil conflict has helped Sierra Leoneans put things in perspective. Voters are running away from old party patronages and voting for a leadership that they believe will provide prosperity, good governance and justice for all. These elections have shattered the SLPP myth that they will win hands down with 75% of the votes. This is what happens when politicians avoid to humbly present themselves to the electorate.
The APC under the leadership of Ernest Koroma has made an excellent showing in all the regions of the country, bagging 46.6% of the total votes counted so far. The party has secured over 60% of the votes in the Western Rural and Western Urban areas and over 60% of the votes in five of the 12 provincial districts. With the exception of the Bonthe District (a PMDC stronghold) where the party has only received 3% of the votes so far, the APC made significant inroads into SLPP strongholds by gaining 10% of the votes in Kenema; 33% in Kono; 11% in Bo; and 27% in Moyamba.
Charles Margai of the PMDC ran a very strong campaign on the basis that the two old parties have no answers. He has scored 14% of the overall votes cast, and has made a very loud presence in the Eastern and Southern regions of the country, winning 15% of the votes so far in the East and 39% of the votes in the south. The party stamped its signature all over the Bonthe district where it won 56% of the votes; 45% of the votes in the Moyamba district; and 36% in the Bo district. This proves that Hon. Charles Margai and the PMDC who also secured votes in the North and the Western Areas will be a strong force to reckon with in Sierra Leone politics for many years to come. This is the party that controversial a SLPP politician referred to as a "One Man Party".
If the vote counting results exhibit the same voting pattern so far, the APC will bag 45% of the votes, SLPP 37% and the PMDC 15%, with minority parties netting the remaining 3%. In a likely run-off between Ernest Koroma and Vice President Berewa, we will see a greater majority vote for change than has been demonstrated during the first round of voting as the status quo which Vice President Berewa represents does not resonate well with the voters.
PMDC party supporters throughout the country who voted for change in the first round will have a much easier choice to make during a run-off than they had during the first round. They have rejected the SLPP in the first round and shown that they cannot continue along the path championed by the SLPP, a statement that they will make even more succinct during the run-off. A new day is finally here in the annals of Sierra Leone politics in which Sierra Leoneans are voting not based on shameless patronage.
Photo: SLPP leader Solomon Berewa.
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