Samura Kamara Breaks Silence: ‘‘I Never Traded the People’s Votes’’
Dr. Samura Kamara, the All People’s Congress (APC) 2023 presidential candidate, has firmly rejected suggestions that he compromised or traded away the votes entrusted to him by Sierra Leoneans, insisting that the people’s mandate was never his personal possession to negotiate.
In his recently published memoir, The Circumstances of Life, Dr. Kamara offers a personal account of the political developments that followed the controversial 2023 presidential election, including his meeting with President Julius Maada Bio, discussions surrounding the proposed National Unity Agreement and the outstanding electoral reforms recommended by the Tripartite Committee.
The former presidential candidate reflects on the intense political negotiations and engagements that characterised the post-election period, addressing questions and lingering public concerns over the protection of the people’s mandate and whether it was compromised during negotiations.
The memoir also provides insights into the end of his tenure as APC leader and his political relationship with former President Ernest Bai Koroma, who personally selected him as the party’s flagbearer ahead of the 2023 general elections.
Dr. Kamara recounts how his once-close relationship with the former president gradually deteriorated, eventually resulting in an extended period of silence between the two political figures.
Through The Circumstances of Life, Dr. Kamara revisits some of the defining moments of his political journey, offering his perspective on the negotiations, political alliances, disagreements and personal relationships that shaped his experience after the 2023 elections.
His assertion that he never traded the people’s votes brings renewed attention to the unresolved debate surrounding the 2023 electoral process, the National Unity Agreement and the implementation of the electoral reforms recommended by the Tripartite Committee.
