African Ambassadors Never Comment on US and UK Elections
With corrections made to reference to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961
_Abraham John_
Events are heating up leading to US and UK Elections. In all of these, I am yet to read any account of where African Diplomats, accredited to the USA and the UK have made influencing comments on their electoral processes. I am still yet to read any account where African Diplomats have held meetings with Election Management Bodies (EMBs) in the US and the UK on the processes and transparency of their elections.
I am also to read accounts of where any media house in the US or UK have given the platform or space to African Diplomat to express their views on the electoral processes.
No African Diplomat including those from Sierra Leone will dare express themselves in any way in any public space about the elections in the UK or the USA. They may not do either due to respect for the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961 between States or for the simple fear that they would be declared persona non grata the next day. The next flight will be on standby to take such a Diplomat back to his country. The principle of non-interference in the affairs of other states underpins diplomatic relations between countries.
Sierra Leone is a place where everything has to be validated by the diplomatic community. These include the basic Sierra Leone law that no institution or body has the right to cancel or order the re-run of any election except the Supreme Court of Sierra Leone. The law provides for what is to be done in instances where aggrieved parties are not satisfied with outcomes of electoral processes. Yet, some Sierra Leoneans would prefer a Diplomat to say so rather than to believe what the law says.
The Ghanaians, Nigerians and other countries in Africa will never seek validation of their electoral processes from outsiders. Their justice systems may not be perfect like any system, but they believe in their system.
News 24 publication
