Freetown: With the Freetown Mayoral Elections only a few weeks away, a new poll shows Gento Mohammed Kamara is keeping his lead over counterpart Yvonne Aki-Sawyer amidst weeks of political campaigns.
In a recent survey by international independent body, Reputation Poll International (RPI), 53% of respondents said they would vote for Gento and 44% would vote his counterpart, Yvonne. However, 3% were undecided.
The urban area Poll revealed that Gento Kamara, who is candidate for Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) is ahead of All People’s Congress’ (APC) Aki-Sawyer, who despite incumbency falls behind in the survey.
Should the results of the poll by RPI reflect ballot outcome in forthcoming June elections, a victory by Gento would leave a remarkable mark in history with the APC having won in the last 3 elections.
Besides that, since Siaka Stevens was mayor in 1966, the city has always been led by a member of her ethnic group, the Krios – who are mainly from within and around western area.
In accordance with an order handed down to all Mayors and Chairpersons of Local Councils by the minister of local government to vacate office on 1st March 2023, rather than the legally stipulated date of 25th April 2023, Aki-Sawyer handed over Mayoral chains in order to prepare her run for reelection.
Speaking about her chances of winning the forthcoming Mayoral election in Freetown, based on her five-year record of serving the people of the City, she said: “Providing access to water in communities was a priority for my first term during which we provided over 150 water points (i.e. water tanks, street taps or boreholes) across the city. An additional 65 water kiosks will be constructed in the coming months”.
“Significant achievements were made across the 11 priority sectors in spite of the considerable internal and external challenges faced during my administration” she said during an announcement for reelection.
When Yvonne Aki-Sawyer was elected mayor of Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown in 2018, many saw the bright and brazen British-educated figure as a rising political star. But as Aki-Sawyerr’s first term drew to an end, much of her agenda has been thwarted by rows and legal battles.
“My biggest shock has been to see programs, interventions, initiatives held back because of a perception that I am a political opponent as opposed to collaborator in development,” Aki-Sawyerr, 55, told AFP from the newly-built skyscraper she worked in – a donation from the South Korean government.
Whilst Gento’s philanthropy and empowerment efforts has significantly sent winds of goodwill through his sails for a Mayoral debut effort, Aki-Sawyer’s incumbency may, along with its advantage also be her biggest challenge.
Her very controversial time in office is, amongst other issues, marked by her inability to connect with the grassroots in the city – especially members of the Temne, Limba ethnic group who have been the principal support base for her party. This was escalated with the very public falling out with her Temne Deputy.
An independent committee set up to investigate the fall out last year slammed her for violating Council policies and not following due process.
She fired up the already lit situation with her recent move to name a member of her own ethnic group and elite community – the west end Freetown based lawyer Kwaku Lisk as her running mate shocked many.
The move is seen to have violated an unspoken rule in Sierra Leone, and especially Freetown politics- that if the top of a ticket is of one ethnic group and religion, the running mate must be chosen from another ethnic group and religion.
This is where she has provided a significant opening for her rather popular business man and philanthropist opponent, Mohamed Gento Kamara. Gento is well known for his major construction projects and his everyday empowerment and rags to riches persona.
Born and raised in the east of the city, his upbringing could not be more diffeent from Yvonne. Gento, who grew up attending public and usually crowded schools and is seen by many as one whose success story is incomplete without the part of his struggle to make it in life.
Notably, he comes from the majority Limba Temne ethnic groups in the city – who are traditionally the base of his counterpart, Yvonne’s party. Gento appears to be fast turning the tide as he recently got the endorsement of all 16 Tribal Heads of the non-krio ethnic groups in the city.
Consequently, he’s running on a platform to fix the basic problems of the city- starting from water, sanitation and providing public spaces and services for all. He insists Yvonne has divided the city with her choice of a running mate and that he would unite the city and make sure the everyday person is represented in the city hall.
In what was lauded as a smart move by observers, he chose a renowned krio and Christian clergy, Rev Babatunde Thomas as his Running mate and they have been traversing the city together.
Gento admits he’s trying to bridge a gap and that he’s the underdog in the race, and as a businessman who has taken on impossible projects and won many times, he is confident he has the formula to topple the APC hegemony of the city and create a new coalition to fix Freetown’s city hall.
Gento’s soft appeal may have also been with some challenges too. Earlier in March this year, he faced backlash for allegedly appealing to religious sentiment for votes in a Freetown mosque and preaching divisiveness.
Meanwhile, the fading away of political strongholds of the two major political parties, the SLPP and the APC, is becoming much pronounced as the two are gaining footholds in areas in which they were exclusively not previously welcomed.
The same situation obtains for the contest of the Mayoral Seat for the Freetown City Council (FCC), a seat once considered to be the main preserve for the creoles but now, in recent times, indigenes belonging to other ethnic groups have begun contesting for the same position.
