As the campaign for the Presidential and Parliamentary elections enters it last two weeks there are increasing complaints of abusive languages being used against political candidates from both the opposition Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) and the ruling All People’s Congress (APC).
During a press conference organized by the SLPP, the Vice Presidential candidate Kadie Sesay has disclosed that all the invectives that have been rained on her, are a form of intimidation and she will not allow the APC or any individual to pull her down through any sort of intimidation.
The SLPP Vice Presidential Candidate was loudly applauded by supporters as she said “I decided to join the race because I am strong and because the APC is scared of defeat, they want to make the country ungovernable so there will be no election, we will not allow this to happen.”
Kadi Sesay stated that in the midst of all of these she has called on the supporters not to involve in the use of abusive languages, stressing that “for us it is a battle of ideas not of abusive words.”
She said that some of the words she heard during the APC rally on Tuesday “I have never heard in my entire life in Freetown.” But this makes the SLPP proud as since the beginning of the campaign with all the difficulties they are experiencing “we are leading.”
She maintained that the use of invectives is a deliberate act by the APC to scare other women out of the race but the people should not allow this to happen. “We should all come out and vote the APC out of government because they have failed the people.”
For the SLPP she said they see rallying as fun “and we have been conducting ourselves in a peacefully manner and play songs that depict what we intend to do and portray the party in the right direction.”
In the Party’s press statement, the Chairlady of the Women’s wing Isata Jabbie Kabbah said though their Presidential Flag bearer has said a lot about violence in the elections, “but we fear that as elections draw closer as President Koroma gets ever more desperate to win this election using millions of our tax payers money, the APC government’s use of violence to harass and intimidate its opponents will worsen.”
She stated further that, over the past months their supporters have been subjected to the most brutal acts of violence which has led to the death of two supporters but that both the PPRC and Police have said and done nothing about that.
She said “the SLPP will not be dragged into the gutter; we are a law abiding party, we want to concentrate on policy issues because we believe that the policies we have in our manifesto are the right ones which will deliver decent education for all, prudent economic management and opportunity for all Sierra Leoneans.”
She alleged that the APC has been flouting the NEC laid down party rules and that the party “is now in the habit of either starting their campaign rallies a day before the prescribed period or have their campaigns over run.”
Isatu Kabbah further questioned “why is it that each time the APC rally businesses are disrupted, schools are closed and public transportation are halted? Is it that the APC is above the law? Or is this how you run a government?”
By Betty Milton
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