SLOW ELECTION RESULTS CERTIFICATION RAISES CONCERN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 FREETOWN 000484

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF/W, INR/AA (BGRAVES)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/15/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM SL
SUBJECT: SLOW ELECTION RESULTS CERTIFICATION RAISES CONCERN
ABOUT STABILITY IN SIERRA LEONE

REF: FREETOWN 481

Classified By: Ambassador Thomas N. Hull for reasons 1.4 (b and d).


1. (SBU) The slow process of certifying the results from the
August 11 Sierra Leone presidential and parliamentary
election results has election stakeholders concerned about
escalating tensions threatening stability while Sierra
Leoneans wait for the official announcement of the final
results, which is not expected until August 23. The process
has been successful to this point, and National Electoral
Commission (NEC) officials are working diligently to
accurately record the results as they arrive at the Tally
Center in Freetown from the 6,171 polling stations. NEC
Chairperson Dr. Christiana Thorpe announced August 14 that
NEC had received nearly 70 percent of the tally sheets and
had certified over 18 percent of the vote. She promised that
the process would accelerate in the next few days as NEC
officials became more proficient in recording tally sheet
results.


2. (C) On August 14, head of the UN Integrated Office in
Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL) Victor Angelo informed the Ambassador
that political party agents were slowing the results
certification process even further by demanding close
scrutiny of the local tally sheets at the NEC Tally Center.
The Ambassador shared with Angelo his concern that the longer
the certification process takes, the more opportunity there
is for mischief by political parties. The Ambassador
encouraged Angelo to urge the NEC to expedite the process as
much as possible.


3. (C) On August 14, Emboffs received uncorroborated
intelligence from sources that the SLPP leadership had held a
meeting at Vice President Solomon Berewa's residence on
August 12 to discuss a strategy to disrupt the electoral
process if it appeared the party was losing at the polls.
Former National Provisional Revolutionary Council (NPRC)
leaders Julius Maade Bio and recent U.S. deportee Tom Nyuma
were reportedly present at the meeting. The SLPP allegedly is
very upset with the Sierra Leone Police (SLP) for its
impartiality and blames it for the SLPP's poor showing at the
polls. Current certified partial results of slightly over 18
percent of the tally show the SLPP trailing the All People's
Congress (APC) by a significant margin.


4. (C) According to these uncorroborated sources, the SLPP is
planning attacks on the SLP Headquarters and on a separate
police station where the Local Unit Commander (LUC) arrested
SLPP party supporters for interference on election day. The
SLPP also allegedly has assembled a group of approximately
120 youth who are stationed at SLPP Headquarters and will act
as a rapid response force to protect SLPP supporters and
cause disturbances. Sources says the youth are armed with
clubs with nails, acid, and possibly old AK-47s. Some
political observers feel that, in the event of civil unrest,
the current SLPP government would step in, declare a state of
emergency, and suspend the electoral process, allowing them
to continue in power. Whether they would have the support of
the police and the military, however, remains uncertain.


5. (C) According to news reports, the SLPP is setting up a
new radio station on 94.8 FM, Radio Unity, to offset the APC
radio (88.8 FM),which, shortly following the closure of
polls on August 11, broadcasted an appeal to supporters to
come out and guard ballot boxes and the counting process. APC
youth responded and mounted barricades in major access roads
in some parts of eastern and central Freetown. Police were
later able to disperse the youth. UNIOSIL officials met with
APC presidential candidate Ernest Koroma late on August 11 to
appeal for restraint on the part of his party supporters and
radio station.


6. (SBU) A combination of appeals for calm from the UN,
international observers, and outgoing President Ahmad Tejan
Kabbah appear to have currently reduced the level of
inflammatory rhetoric; however, tensions beneath the surface
remain a concern. Many of the details of the SLPP plans were
later reported in the local newspaper, The Standard Times.
The media also announced that the Independent Media
Commission, which usually takes months to approve a new radio
license, issued the SLPP a license within a day for their
station.


7. (C) The Ambassador met with British High Commissioner Sara
MacIntosh on August 15 who requested an emergency appointment
to discuss the latest reports of SLPP plans to disrupt the
electoral process. During the meeting, possible scenarios
were discussed on how the situation might play out.
Essentially, however, any attempt to disrupt the process in

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Freetown will certainly incite large crowds of angry, pro-APC
youth.


8. (C) The international community is continuing efforts to
diffuse tensions. On August 15, a delegation of the resident
diplomatic corps in Sierra Leone, represented by the EC Head,
the Ghanaian High Commission, and the Egyptian Ambassador,
met with the heads of the three top political parties (APC,
SLPP, and PMDC) to present a joint statement which post
supported, urging patience and calm as the NEC completes the
tallying process. The Ambassador will have a farewell call on
President Kabbah on August 16 and will underscore our concern
for threats to the democracy, which is the legacy of his 11
years in office.


9. (C) COMMENT: Despite the smooth functioning of voting on
August 11, the slow certification process is of increasing
concern as it gives political parties time to release their
unofficial results, to which party supporters will certainly
react. The APC's strong showing in the Western Area and in
the Northern Province has boosted the APC's confidence that
it can win the presidential election. In addition, although
results are still arriving at the NEC Tally Center, the
likelihood of the APC winning the most seats in Parliament is
widely expected. As the APC's confidence grows, so does the
SLPP's desperation, which makes the reports of SLPP plans to
disrupt the process, albeit uncorroborated, cause for
concern. END COMMENT.
HULL