By Abubakarr Harding
As the process of registering voters for the June 2023 general elections comes to a close, The Calabash has discerned that many are registering not for the expressed purpose of voting for any of the political parties or candidates but only to acquire the ID card.
Asked why many would not turn out to vote, the general reply was that since the return to democracy elections in 1996 to now, instead of the two parties that have held political power bettering their lot, it has got only worse. We thought that democracy will bring us socioeconomic benefits, one University lecturer told The Calabash.
Instead what we have seen since is a clan of politicians bamboozling the people with promises of bettering their lot. He lamented that after five or ten years in power, the only thing the people see is the clan in power having acquired massive unexplained wealth.
Articulating the disillusionment of the people with politics, the University lecturer further narrated that the Executive, Parliament and Local Governments have conspiratorially failed to deliver the fruits of democracy to the masses, pointing to lack of development, high unemployment, lack of social services, inflation, corruption and falling standards of living as key reasons why a silent majority believe that APC and SLPP do not have the answers to the perennial problems of underdevelopment, as Sierra Leone continues to be ranked among the least developed countries in the world with a long way to catch up with the likes of Botswana, Rwanda, Tanzania and the Seychelles that have used democratic governance to improve on their People’s welfare and wellbeing.
