The Office of the Vice President has assured the population that mechanisms would be put in place for an election that would be free of intimidation and violence.
This assurance came as a result of last Saturday’s mayhem in which various masked devils were engaged in a street carnival alongside the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP).
According to a press release from the Vice President’s office, “government is shocked that after the bitter experiences of this country during the ten [eleven] years conflict, any political party can today advocate and actively pursue the tactics of violence and intimidation.”
The release further states that, “this government will not allow a return to the era where intimidation and violence characterized politics in this country; not under its watch,” stressing that it was this form of governance that eventually led to over ten [eleven] years of civil war.
The people of Sierra Leone, the release stresses, have struggled too hard and suffered too long to allow anyone to take this country back to the past, noting that “Sierra Leone should never again know this era”.
It goes on to warn that, “tolerance by the authorities should not be interpreted as a sign of weakness… government has full confidence in the measures being adopted by the police to deal with anti-social behaviour, and to ensure that the rule of law prevails in this country.”
To the youth, it emphasizes that they should not allow themselves to be manipulated by ruthless politicians, further calling on law abiding citizen that they have nothing to fear, as government is determined to ensure that nothing will mar the elections.
The populace was further urged to remain calm and turn out in large numbers to vote on election day.
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