November 21, 2017 By Ishmael Sallieu Koroma
Team leader of the Standing Together Consortium, Dr. Mamoud Idris Tarawallie, has disclosed that the consortium in partnership with the Office of National Security will today (21st November) hold a national security sector dialogue for political parties and security management bodies at the Bank Complex in Kingtom, Freetown.
Dr. Tarawallie, who was speaking to Concord Times Newspaper yesterday, said the consortium comprises seven civil society organisations which will support the electoral process in Sierra Leone.
“In previous elections, we have seen incidence of political violence and issues of insecurity and that has been a challenge for the security sector. We are supporting ONS to bring together stakeholders of political parties to sit and discuss issues that pose threat to the March 7, 2018 general elections,” he said.
He said participants would discuss issues that always trigger violence in elections and how they could be nip in bud before the much-anticipated 2018 elections.
“The issue of personal bodyguards of presidential candidates dressing in military attire will be discussed. We will also discuss the issue of cliques and the threat they pose to the elections. Paramount chiefs have been openly forcing their subjects to vote for candidates of specific political parties or else they would be banished from their chiefdoms, we consider it to be a security issue,” he said.
Dr. Tarawallie said the consortium abhors situations wherein people would be unsafe or feel scared to vote during elections.
He revealed that the dialogue forum would be one of many dialogue fora across the country, adding that peace is very much important to the development of any country.