In a press conference held on June 15th, 2023, at the SLPP headquarters in Freetown, Umaru Napoleon Koroma, the Secretary General of the ruling Sierra Leone People Party (SLPP), expressed confidence in the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone (ECSL) to conduct credible elections on June 24th, 2023. The conference was organized to address the allegations made by Dr. Samura Kamara, the main opposition All People's Congress (APC) party presidential candidate, on June 14th, 2023.
Koroma criticized Dr. Kamara's demand for the resignation of the Chief Electoral Commissioner and his regional commissioners, stating that it undermined the nation's sovereignty and could potentially lead to post-election violence and a constitutional crisis. He also highlighted that Dr. Kamara's statements contradicted the Peace Pledge signed by him and President Julius Maada Bio, who is also the presidential candidate of the SLPP, with the support of the Commonwealth.
Koroma accused the APC party of subjecting the electoral commission staff to tribal profiling and issuing threats filled with hate messages. He expressed surprise at the silence of international partners and Civil Society Organizations in response to these actions. Additionally, he claimed that the recent protests on June 12th and 13th were instigated by the opposition and their overseas supporters.
Dr. Prince A. Harding, the Chairman of SLPP, further emphasized that since President Bio took office five years ago, the APC has consistently refused to accept the election results. He accused the APC of using social media and an individual based in Holland named "Adebayor" to incite people. Dr. Harding referred to the violent protests on August 10th, 2022, which he claimed nearly pushed the country to the brink of war.
The press conference aimed to refute what Dr. Harding described as a series of lies propagated by the APC leadership. He stated that SLPP leaders and supporters have been working to maintain peace despite facing unprecedented attacks. He denounced the contents of the APC's press statement as being filled with inaccuracies, misinformation, and deliberate lies. Dr. Harding also criticized the APC leadership for failing to denounce "Adebayor" for his social media statements.
Mohamed Rahman Swaray, the Information and Communications Minister, acknowledged the challenge of dealing with misinformation and pledged to implement mechanisms to address it effectively.
The SLPP Press Statement presented during the conference described the APC presidential candidate's statements as baseless, consisting of unfounded claims, conjectures, blatant inaccuracies, and absurd allegations. In addition, the SLPP leadership presented a document detailing alleged attacks on their supporters during the first two weeks of the campaign, including cases of intimidation, attempted arson, and assault across the country.