The Right To Access Information Commission (RAIC) has issued an ultimatum of 7 days to the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone to reply to the review requested by Augustine S. Marrah Esq., which he had earlier sent to the ECSL that they have not responded to.
Lawyer Marrah then requested from the RAIC that the needful be done in respect of his request, referencing section 43 (a) and (b) of the Right to Access Information Act of 2013 (RAIC). Against this backdrop, the RAIC wrote a letter to the ECSL on 24th August on the matter, also referencing the obligation of the ECSL to comply in respect of sections 44 and 45 of the ARIC Act of 2013.
The RAIC, acting on section 43 (a) & (b) of the RAIC Act 2013, and section 44 and 45, called upon the ECSL to respond to the application for review by Augustine S. Marrah Esq. within 7 days from the date of receipt of its letter (24th August 2023).
It could be recalled that various parties, including international and local observers of the General Elections on 24th June 2023, the APC party and even individual citizens, have all requested that the ECSL publish the disaggregated results of the just concluded elections by polling station so as to enable all parties to verify the results. The latest call came from the American Ambassador that it is the position that the disaggregated results be published, as parallel data tabulation figures vary and reports of inconsistencies. This stalemate and the deliberate refusal of the ECSL to publish the data has led to the APC’s refusal to participate in all governance.