Police Officers Intimidate Anti-APC Supporters
Supporters of John Sallu Gbla, the independent candidate for Constituency 62 bye-election slated for June 29, are reported to have been severely threatened by the Sierra Leone Police (SLP) as a way of scaring them to prevent them from voting for their candidate, thereby disenfranchising them.
In a correspondence dated June 9, 2013, and addressed to the National Commission for Democracy, the Secretary of the Steering Committee for John Gbla, Ahmid Thoronka, alleged that after the nomination as the independent candidate candidate in Constituency 62 for the parliamentary bye-election scheduled for 29th June, many of Gbla’s supporters have been receiving threats of insecurity from supporters of the APC candidate, Aaron Koroma, the constituency executives, and the police.
One of the constituency executives is reported to have told a Gbla supporter that they are the government of the day and that they will order the police to employ terror tactics to disenfranchise the supporters of John Gbla.
Mr. Thoronka accused the constituency executives of vowing to heap allegations on Gbla’s supporters to ensure that they are apprehended by the police so that they will not witness the election, further vowing to prevail on the National Electoral Commission (NEC) to rig the election in favour of the APC candidate, Aaron Koroma. “Already, twenty-four of our supporters have been arrested and detained by the police on the false allegation that they are cultivating and trafficking marijuana,” Thoronka charged.
In view of the above, Thoronka is, therefore, calling on the National Commission for Democracy and other concerned organizations to intervene to ensure that Gbla’s supporters are not disenfranchised.
By Dennis Jones
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