APC Internal Electoral Systems Questioned
By Titus Boye-Thompson, London
The All-Peoples Congress seeks to take over the mantle of government through electoral success but in itself, the question is now being asked of how genuinely fair or just are its own internal electoral systems to secure universal agreement on its electoral outcomes.
The lawyers among us often mention that “those who come to equity must do so with clean hands.” With this in mind, the question can then legitimately be put as to whether a politician can genuinely come to equity or better still can equity be of benefit to him who cannot approach it?
Political engagement in the society reflects certain values of the society itself. The context that politics is full of horse trading and compromises turns the arguments about fairness against itself. Political parties cannot guarantee within themselves the very same electoral justice that they seek in the national arena because of the nature of their structure – politics invariably becomes a game of influence trading rather than a competition of wits and caliber.
It is not true that in politics the best man wins, no, that happens in sports, and even at that, it is a wish! Given that the prospect for securing fairness and justice in politics is fraught with such impropriety, how then can we aim to secure a reasonable outcome for those who desire the best outcomes in politics? The answer will have to lie in technocracy – the management of systems with a reasonable predictive value as to reaching the desired outcomes. As a political party, the APC need to turn to itself to examine its own internal strategy to ensure that it starts planning to win, rather than being subjective in predicting a value attraction of personalities. The APC should begin to look at itself as an embodiment of component parts and not as a composition made up of many parts. In effect, togetherness is where the strength lies and not in the individual capacities of desolate influences.
This is the pretext that creates the entitlement culture that is obscuring the vision of many of our politicians. That the APC is united is so untrue that it is in itself a non-starter. The APC is a rainbow coalition but having said that, it has always been its diversity and melting pot culture that had made it attractive to newcomers. To say the least, this strength to easily reach every part of the country with some adherence that creates the inherent looseness that has become its main fault. Unlike the SLPP whose strength is in its makeup as a tribal cohort, the APPC’s internecine battles for supremacy and partisan dominance creates the more elusive pedestal for internal growth. To secure its internal growth, the APC requires a leader who can make amends by his own self-determination, charisma and character traits that attract the populace to his cause. Without a doubt, these are qualities that Dr Samura Kamara brings to the Party. Dr Samura Kamara embodies that self-evasive strength of the quintessential APC leader, yet to meet the man in person is to be in awe of that unique human quality that makes other people see themselves in him. While there may be others with a claim to leadership in the APC, what is indisputable at this present time is the fact that in Dr Samura Kamara, his presence in the political arena reminds everybody of the singular abuse of power that in 2023, caused the Electoral Commissioner to invoke such injustice to the voters of Sierra Leone and with such impunity. Unless the APC comes round to view this injustice for what it is and work to ensure that it does not stand as a legitimate claim to power, then no amount of preparation could win any elections for the APC under this dispensation of electoral fraud. Unity should be our strength.
