Sierra Leone Telegraph: 5 June 2022:
Despite serious concerns expressed by opposition political Parties and some civil society groups about the credibility of the provisional results of the 2021 population census published last Thursday by Statistics Sierra Leone, the ruling SLPP is calling on the government “to dismiss all condemnations of the census result and uphold the provisions of the 1991 Constitution.”
Secretary General of the SLPP – Umaru Napoleon Koroma (Photo above) is also calling on the Electoral Commission “to proceed with the delimitation of constituency boundaries pursuant to the powers confer on it by the Constitution of Sierra Leone (Act No.6 of 1991).”
Writing in a press statement three days ago, this is what Umaru Napoleon Koroma said: “The public would recall that on April 2, 2016, the SLPP issued a public notice in which it catalogued a number of anomalies in the then released 2015 census results.
“Amongst the concerns raised in that notice were the credibility of the data and the entire conduct of the 2015 census. The SLPP has always been desirous of credible data that would help government make informed decisions on development planning and resource distribution.
“Given that background, the SLPP has keenly analysed the just released Midterm Population and Housing Census and is pleased with the outcome, especially when it was unique in that it is the first digital census ever conducted in Sierra Leone.
“The SLPP would therefore like to thank the Government of Sierra Leone and all its partners through Statistics Sierra Leone for the successful outcome of the exercise.
“In particular, the SLPP would like to thank the Government and the people of Kenya for supporting Sierra Leone to undertake the first digital census. This underpins His Excellency, President Bio’s determination to promote e-governance.
“Consequently, the SLPP now calls on the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone to proceed with the delimitation of constituency boundaries pursuant to the powers confer on it by the Constitution of Sierra Leone (Act No.6 of 1991).
“The SLPP also calls on the Government of Sierra Leone to dismiss all condemnations of the census result and uphold the provisions of the 1991 Constitution.
“The SLPP is willing to work with all stakeholders to make the next elections preparation smooth and seamless.”
