President Ernest Bai Koroma, after casting his vote on Saturday in the polling station adjacent to his house in Goderich said “let the best candidate win”.
In an interview with Awoko, President Koroma said he believes that all Sierra Leoneans should come out and exercise their civic responsibilities.
He added “I have done so myself and I think it is incumbent on every Sierra Leonean to come out and exercise your civic responsibilities”.
Dr Koroma stated “you have to participate in the decision on who should provide the leadership within your locality and it is paramount; so this is the message I want to send out to everybody that you should come out and vote for the candidates of your choice because tomorrow they will take responsibility for the immediate governance within your locality.”
He said that if people do not take that decision now they will have themselves to blame tomorrow if anything goes wrong.
Asked about allegations, of harassment, violence and intimidation going on prior to the election, President replied that, he has sent a message to the entire country that “we have earned a reputation of being a country with the capacity to conduct a free and fair elections and therefore we must ensure that we maintain or build on that reputation and I have advised everybody to conduct themselves in a peaceful manner and let the best candidate win.”
He further explained that NEC has been up to it in terms of getting themselves ready and the campaigning has been very well done.
Dr Koroma confirmed that there are incidences of violence here and there but substantially the election process has been organized and free and fair elections unto this moment.
On the construction of Goderich roads and other roads in the country, Dr Koroma disclosed that, the constructions of the road works are already on; you don’t construct a road within a couple of months he said.
He explained “I mean it is done within a year or two and they (constructor CSE) have started the work and we insist that the construction will continue not only here but all the major road network in the country will be done and those that have not started we will try to ensure that we put a mechanism in place to start their construction.”
The President stressed that the road infrastructure is very critical to the development of the country “it is key in every venture and if we have to develop we have to turn around the economy, we have to develop the agricultural base.”
By Abibatu Kamara
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