All Media Houses are invited to witness and cover the historic celebration of Democracy at the U.S. State Department on  August 11, 2023 at 10:00 a.m.

Washington, DC....August 10, 2023 "Sierra Leoneans for Democracy" – a group of Sierra Leoneans residing in the United States of America want the people of America, and other Democratic Institutions in the United States to take cognizance of the democratic strides undertaken by the people of SierraLeone, deliberately aimed at instituting democratic values in all sectors since the Civil War ended. Sierra Leone lost over 50,000 people during the eleven years Civil War, and about 5,000 people were lost to the Ebola scourge.

In the ashes of despair, a flicker of hope emerged in the leadership of His Excellency Rtd Brigadier Julius Maada Bio who has instituted remarkable reforms in the last five years. President Bio's administration has made gains in Human Capital Development (Free Quality Education) where he deliberately allocated 22% of the national budget. Those enrolled for public exams increased by 79% in five years, topping the list of girls completing primary and secondary education in West Africa. His radical inclusion of pregnant girls in the school system is a novelty. In Sierra Leone, three million children are now benefitting from free tuition, free core textbooks, and learning materials. As a result, Sierra Leone's Minister of Education was Awarded as the best Minister in the world.

President Bio also improved Sierra Leone's Millenium Challenge Corporation scorecard from 46% to 90% in five years, reduced maternal mortality by 60% in five years, and rural electrification expanded significantly. Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment Act was passed with a minimum of 30% female representation guaranteed. In his drive to assert freedom of expression in the country, President Bio expunged the Seditious Libel Law from the 1965 Public Order Act, which otherwise appeared draconian to media practice, and free speech. President Bio also removed the death penalty from the constitution of Sierra Leone.

The June 24, 2023 multi-tier elections have been the most peaceful in all five post-conflict elections, and Sierra Leone is the third most peaceful nation in Africa, and 47 th most peaceful in the world according to the Global Peace Index. In these 2023 elections, the President and his SLPP party won the elections with 56.1%. His main challenger Dr. Samura Kamara got 46%.

The opposition candidate Dr. Samura Kamara refused to accept defeat in the elections. His Political Party APC party resorted to violence, instructing his party's newly elected Members of Parliament not to participate in the governance of Sierra Leone.

Sierra Leoneans are aware that the incumbent President won the elections democratically after a very rigorous campaign mounted by President Bio after delivering on the promise he made to the people in the 2018 elections that brought the President to power. He campaigned in the 2023 elections on the Five Game Changers – Food Security, Human Capital with a strong focus on skills development, including digital skills, and the Youth Employment Scheme with the promise of 500,000 jobs in five years.

Section 54 of the Public Elections Act 2022 makes provision for challenging the validity of Presidential elections by filing a petition to the Sierra Leone Supreme Court within 7 days of the declaration of results. The main challenger Dr. Samura Kamara chose not to go to court, which implies that they do not have any evidence of illegality.

The Electoral Commission Sierra Leone – (ECSL) is the only institution mandated by the laws of Sierra Leone to validate election results. And it is mandated to accredit Election Observers, both local and international to observe the conduct of elections. Most election observers like ECOWAS, and other Civil Society Organizations accredited to observe the June 24 th elections have given a clean bid of victory to the incumbent President, while the European Union Observer Team, Carter Center, National Democratic Institute, and NEW (National Elections Watch) a local observer team, were critical with the pattern of tallying election results in Sierra Leone. National Democratic Institute - USA has acknowledged that the incumbent President Rtd Brigadier Julius Maada Bio was in the lead, but that the tallying system was faulty, and has asked for a disaggregated result based on polling station by polling station.

Based on the above information, 'Sierra Leoneans for Democracy' are determined to come out in their numbers on August 11 th to educate the American populace and other institutions that they (Sierra Leoneans for Democracy in the United States) stand with the principles of sovereignty, capitalizing on the fact that the June 24 th, 2023 elections were conducted in a free, fair and transparent manner, and that the people of Sierra Leone peacefully participated in the elections to choose their leaders. The June 24, 2023 elections should not threaten the existence of peace in Sierra Leone. Sierra Leoneans want Carter Center and NDI to listen to the other side of the story, which they think is the truth, instead of a lobbyist hired by ill-minded politicians from the opposition to blackmail the country. Sierra Leone has come a long way, and the only necessary path for the people and the country is to choose peace over political disturbance.

At the State Department, 'Sierra Leoneans for Democracy' will present a document (Fact Sheet) explaining the issues surrounding the conduct of the June 24 th , 2023 elections, and the recalcitrant nature of the main opposition APC party in the country. The Group will present a chronology of violent events perpetrated by the opposition APC, with video evidence inciting violence in the country, and their reliability on the international community to change the narrative of the election results in Sierra Leone in their favor. The opposition APC did not mount a rigorous campaign as the SLPP during the elections, and most people thought it was because they did not a positive message for the electorates. All electoral laws were followed and exercised or, otherwise ratified by the Parliament of Sierra Leone.

"Sierra Leoneans for Democracy" are imploring that the United States and other Western Governments must rise above the intrigues of the opposition All Peoples Congress party in Sierra Leone and stand by the duly re-elected President to consolidate the gains made and accelerate transformation.

At the inauguration of the 6 th Parliament on the 6 th of August, 2023, President Retired Brigadier Julius Maada Bio announced the setting up of an Electoral Reform Commission to be headed by Vice President, Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh for reforms in the Elections Commission of Sierra Leone, encouraging the opposition to work together with the government in the interest of peace and development.

All Media Houses are invited to witness and cover the historic celebration of Democracy at the US State Department on the 11 th of August 2023 at 10 AM by Sierra Leoneans from across the United States.

For more info Contact; Mr. Pel Koroma – 240 645 8380 or Mr. Ibrahim Fofanah – 614 596 6323.