RE: USA Africa Dialogue Series - ObamaCare Headed Back To Supreme Court

Most Honorable Citizen Osagyefo Kwaku Mensah, you are trying to distract me from exposing your Obama and his shenanigans. But since you are a wonderful brother, here goes.

The election in Sierra Leone, despite minor glitches, was quite peaceful and fair. I had stayed neutral because President Ernest Koroma is a good and hard working man who is doing his best for the country. Candidate Maada Bio was my undergraduate and then graduate student at American University. In fact, in addition to his major papers, I also supervised his essay published in the faculty-refereed NCUR Journal. I have been fortunate to interact with both men and find them quite nice, humble, capable, and very intelligent.

The following two reports from the ECOWAS Mission and Reuters underscore my great pride in the way our Afrikan people in Sierra Leone conducted themselves peacefully throughout the election. Even your man Obama had something nice to say about the election and President Koroma. Check the White House Web site for that.

Statement by ECOWAS Observation Mission to the 17th November 2012 General Elections in the Republic of Sierra Leone

1 Attachment Download

Statement by ECOWAS Observation Mission to the 17th November 2012 General
Elections in the Republic of Sierra Leone

 ECOWAS OBSERVERVATION MISSION TO THE 17 NOVEMBER 2012 GENERAL ELECTIONS
IN THE REPUBLIC OF SIERRA LEONE

 PRELIMINARY DECLARATION

 I. Introduction

 1. Pursuant to the Constitutional Convergence Principles of the
Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance (2001), and within
the framework of the Program of Assistance to Member States organizing
elections, the President of the ECOWAS Commission, His Excellency Kadré
Désiré Ouédraogo, deployed an ECOWAS Observer Mission (EOM) to monitor the
conduct of the Presidential, Parliamentary, Council, and Mayoral elections,
which took place concurrently in Sierra Leone on 17 November 2012.

 2. The Mission, made up of 150 observers, includes delegations drawn from
the ECOWAS Council of the Wise, West African Ambassadors accredited to
Abuja, and the Community Parliament and Court of Justice. It also includes
experts drawn from the relevant Ministries and Electoral Management Bodies
of Member States, Civil Society Organizations, and the Media. It is led by
Air Vice-Marshall Christian Edem Dovlo, Commandant of the Kofi Annan
International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), Accra, and supported
by the Vice-President of the ECOWAS Commission and a technical team from
the Commission.

 3. Prior to the deployment, ECOWAS had been monitoring the political and
security situation in the country in the build-up to the elections through
its Early Warning Mechanism. In September 2012, the President of the
Commission dispatched a Fact-Finding Mission to the country to interact
with the principal stakeholders in the electoral process, with a view to
assessing the state of preparedness for the elections
 .
 II. Arrival and Deployment

 4. The ECOWAS Observer Mission began arriving in the country on 11
November 2012. The Mission maintained contacts with the State authorities;
interacted with the media; and held consultations with other observer
missions, including the African Union, the European Union, the
Commonwealth, the National Elections Watch, and the Women's Situation Room.
It also monitored the concluding phase of the electioneering campaign.

5. Following a briefing and orientation session on 15 November 2012,
teams of ECOWAS Observers were deployed to 64 towns and villages throughout
the fourteen Administrative Districts of Sierra Leone. These include 14
localities in Freetown (Western Area Urban I, Urban II, and Rural); 7 in
Kenema; 4 in Kono; 5 in Kailahun; 5 in Bombali; 3 in Kambia; 5 in Port
Loko; 4 in Tonkolili; 3 in Koinadugu; 6 in Bo; 2 in Bonthe; 4 in Moyamba;
and 2 in Pujehun.

6. While in the field, the ECOWAS observers maintained contact with the
Mission Situation Room in Freetown and with other missions. A team of
observers also monitored proceedings at the National Tallying Centre in
Freetown.

III. Preliminary Observations and Recommendations

7. Having analyzed dispatches and reports from team leaders in the field,
and after a debriefing session with returning observers, the ECOWAS
Observer Mission to the 2012 General Elections in Sierra Leone wishes to
make a Preliminary Declaration on the electioneering campaign and
developments on Election Day, 17 November 2012, as follows:

A. The Campaign, Opening of the Poll, Polling, Counting and Collation

i. Overall, the concluding phases of the electioneering campaign were
colorful, enthusiastic, and boisterous. They passed off peacefully without
any major incidents, helped by the holding of campaigns on alternate days
and the vigilance of the security agencies.

ii. Except in a few cases, the media was polarized, partisan, and
intemperate, reflecting the sharp Red – Green divide of the country's
political landscape between the All Peoples Congress (APC) and the Sierra
Leone Peoples Party (SLPP).

iii. The Cooling-Off Day (16 November 2012) was generally observed.

iv. On Election Day, voters were observed in teeming numbers at the
polling centers long before the official poll opening time of 7:00 am. A
few had spent the night at the centers while several others had arrived as
early as 4:00 am.

v. The demographic spread among the voters showed a predominance of women
and the youth.

vi. There was conspicuous but unobtrusive presence of security agents at
most of the polling centers observed. Security was provided by the Sierra
Leone Police Force, supplemented by the Fire Service, Local Council
Security and other para-security agencies.

vii. Overall, the political parties and their followers respected the
prohibition of the display of party colors and symbols on Election Day.

viii. The vehicular restrictions put in place on Election Day, including
manned check-points at vantage points around Freetown and other cities,
greatly improved electoral security, even though they constrained the
ability of some voters to exercise their franchise.

ix. In the main, polling officials were on the scene at most of the
polling centers in advance of the official opening time.

x. Party agents of APC and SLPP were present at the opening of polls at
all the polling stations observed. In addition, some other agents of
between one and three other political parties were also observed, in
particular the People's Movement for Democratic Change (PMDC), Democratic
People's Alliance (DPA) and Independent candidates.

xi. Essential electoral materials were in place in most of the polling
centers observed, and the polls opened within 30 to 60 minutes of the
official opening time of7:00 am.

xii. However, materials arrived late in a few polling centers, causing
delays in the commencement of polling. Instances observed included SLMB
Primary School in Port Loko (Code 0701), where materials arrived at 10:05
am; Kondembaya's Court Barry in Koinadugu District, Bombali and some parts
of the Gbong District, where voting did not start until after 3: 00 pm in
some instances.

xiii. At the opening of polls, Polling Center Queue Controllers at the
centers visited struggled to maintain order due to a combination of
insufficient numbers, and the influx and enthusiasm of voters; the
situation improved gradually with time.

xiv. In the early hours of voting, the Voter Enquiry Officers were too
few and professionally unprepared to guide voters to their designated
polling stations, leading to frustration. The situation was worsened by the
difficulty in identifying designated polling stations from the displayed
serial numbers of voters.

xv. In some areas, the physically challenged, the aged and nursing
mothers, encountered difficulties in accessing polling stations.

xvi. Despite the challenges, voters exhibited maximum patience and
perseverance in their determination to exercise their civic rights and
responsibilities.

xvii. The voting process was slow at the beginning, complicated by the
sheer number of elections being conducted, On the average, it took between
4 and 5 minutes to complete the voting cycle. However, as the polling
officials warmed to the task, the pace quickened.

xviii. The polling officials demonstrated adequate professionalism in
carrying out their duties while party agents ably watched over their party
and candidates' interests.

xix. International and regional observers were present in most polling
centers visited. These included, besides ECOWAS observers, the United
Nations Development Program (UNDP), European Union (EU), African Union
(AU), the Commonwealth, Carter Centre, British High Commission and American
Embassy, the Women's Situation Room, and the Women's Observer Mission.
Effective presence of Local Observers, was also recorded, led by the
National Elections Watch (NEW), and including Human Rights Commission of
Sierra Leone (HRCSL), the Political Parties Registration Commission, Sierra
Leone Action Network on Small Arms (SLANSA), Council of Churches in Sierra
Leone (CCSL), Justice and Peace Commission of the Catholic Church (JPCCC),
Sierra Leone Teachers Union (SLTU).

xx. On the whole, the voting process took place in an orderly,
transparent and professional manner, and secrecy of the ballot was in the
main ensured.

xxi. By 3:00 pm, most of the electorate who wished to do so, had
exercised their franchise.

xxii. In most polling stations observed, the polls closed at the official
time of 5:00 pmexcept in the cases where materials arrived too late.

xxiii. The sorting, counting, tallying, and reconciliation of the ballot,
as well as the declaration and certification of results at the polling
stations, were carried out in a professional, transparent and credible
manner, and under the watch of party agents and observers.

B. Challenges Observed

8. Besides the deficiencies noted above, the ECOWAS Observer Mission also
noted a few isolated incidents that could have marred the smooth and
peaceful conduct of the polls, including the following:

i. Where voting closed well after 5:00 pm, the absence of back-up
lighting obliged party agents to improvise with cell-phones and flashlights
to enable counting to proceed.

ii. The premeditated acts of intimidation at certain polling stations,
Around 5:15 pm on Election Day, a Cabinet Minister, dressed in military
fatigues, led a convoy of armed soldiers to the densely populated precinct
of Hill Station in Freetown. There, they were confronted by the local
youth, provoking chaos and panic. It took the arrival of observers from
ECOWAS and NEW, coupled with the intervention of the Operational Support
Division units for the convoy to beat a retreat.

iii. At Polling Center Code No. 14221 at Metropolitan Center, Wilkinson
Road, an individual snatched a number of unused ballot papers at Polling
Station No. 5 and ran away. He was, however, later apprehended by the
police.

iv. At the 'Under 5' Government Hospital Polling Center (Code 02013) in
Kenema, ECOWAS observed the display of party posters.

v. At the same Center, as well as in a number of rural areas, the absence
of standard polling booths and their poor improvisation may have undermined
the secrecy of the ballot.

vi. It is the view of the ECOWAS Mission that these inadequacies observed
do not diminish the transparency, fairness or the credibility of the
electoral process at this point in time.

vii. Further, the Mission would like to draw attention to the mitigating
circumstances with regard to the inadequacies observed. First, the
elections are the first to be organized solely by Sierra Leoneans
themselves since the end of the Civil War. Secondly, the novelty of the
biometric system, coupled with the conduct of multiple elections on the
same day, made certain shortcomings inevitable.

C. Preliminary Conclusions and Recommendations

9. In light of the preceding observations and analysis, the ECOWAS
Observer Mission to the 2012 General Elections wishes to make the following
preliminary conclusions:

i. The preparation of the 2012 elections, the conduct of the
electioneering campaign, as well as the processes on Election Day up until
the certification of the results of the four elections by the responsible
officials at the polling stations, were free, fair, and credible. The vast
majority of the qualified Sierra Leonean population, who wished to do so,
were provided the required freedom and space to exercise their
constitutional rights to vote or to be voted for.

ii. The ECOWAS Observer Mission will continue to closely monitor the
concluding phases of the electoral process, in particular the transmission
of the electoral results and supporting materials to the National Tallying
Center, as well as the processing and declaration of provisional results,
and will make further declarations where and when appropriate.

iii. The ECOWAS Observer Mission warmly congratulates the peace-loving
people of Sierra Leone, particularly the political leaders, their
followers, and the electorate in general, for the tenacity, determination,
sense of moderation and patriotism demonstrated in their quest for
democracy and development. The Mission wishes to also commend the National
Electoral Commission, the security agencies and all the other concerned
stakeholders for their invaluable contribution to the success so far
achieved, and urges them to pursue the process to its logical conclusion
with the same determination and commitment.

iv. At this juncture, the ECOWAS Mission would like to caution
individuals and groups, in particular the political parties, the media and
civil society organizations, to refrain from speculating on or declaring
unofficial results until they are officially declared. In this regard, the
Mission urges the Electoral Commission to come out with the provisional
results as soon as possible.

v. The Mission calls on all candidates and their supporters to continue
to respect due process and the rule of law at all times. Given the
individual and collective responsibility for the success of the process,
the Mission urges all to resort only to legal means to seek redress of any
grievances emanating from the electoral process

vi. Regarding the need to further strengthen the electoral process in
Sierra Leone, the ECOWAS Observer Mission wishes to recommend to the
in-coming Government, the Electoral Commission, and all other relevant
stakeholders, to prioritize voter education and strengthen the electoral
infrastructure in the country. The Mission also wishes to urge the
in-coming Parliament to revisit the issue of nomination fees for
candidates, which nearly marred the preparatory phase of the 2012
Elections, with a view to finding a consensual solution to the matter.

vii. ECOWAS wishes to congratulate the people of Sierra Leone for their
exemplary comportment up to this point.

Done at Freetown, this 17th Day of November 2012

The Head of the ECOWAS Mission


From Reuters:

FREETOWN (Reuters) - Sierra Leone's elections were generally well conducted, saw a large turnout, and will help consolidate democracy in the West African state if the eventual results are accepted peacefully by the contenders, European and U.S. observers said on Monday.

While praising Saturday's voting as largely calm and peaceful, the 100-strong European Union observer mission said however it noted "some shortcomings", including an "unequal playing field" during pre-election campaigning that favored the ruling party of President Ernest Bai Koroma.

Votes were st! ill being tallied from the presidential and parliamentary polls, the third national vote held since 1991-2002 civil war that earned the country international notoriety as a "blood diamonds" battleground for rebels and child soldiers

After a decade of recovery from the conflict, Sierra Leone's leaders and aid donors hope that new iron ore mining projects and oil discoveries can propel the war-scarred country - still one of the poorest in the world - into a new era of growth with increased prosperity for its 5.5 million people.

Since polls closed, feverish expectation has gripped the steamy coastal capital Freetown. In homes, offices and roadside markets, citizens were keeping portable radios glued to their ears as they listened to partial results from polling stations.

Electoral officials said full results could be announced either as early as Tuesday or on Wednesday.

Many predict a close-fought contest between Koroma and his ruling All People's Congress (APC) and main challenger Julius Maada Bio, a former junta leader who represents the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP).

"We describe this election as being well-conducted ... a contribution to democratic consolidation," EU chief observer Richard Howitt told a news conference in Freetown.

A smaller observer mission from the Atlanta-based Carter Center gave a similar assessment.

"The process was conducted with a high degree of transparency ... I was extremely impressed," the Carter Center's mission chief, former Zambian President Rupiah Banda, told reporters. He too cited "limited shortcomings".

OPPOSITION COMPLAINTS

The EU mission said it believed Sierra Leone's National Electoral Commission (NEC) was behaving with independence and impartiality and that the integrity of the election process so far was being protected.

To win outright, a candidate must gain 55 percent of the vote and the race may well go to a second round. With rivalry between the APC and the SLPP running high, there are concerns a close result could ignite violence.

"If the election continues to be well conducted and if there continues to be integrity, I hope there will be peaceful acceptance of the results," Howitt said, adding that this was the message he had conveyed to the main party leaders.

The vote is expected to be close. Former insurance executive Koroma, 59, who wrested the presidency from the SLPP in a disputed 2007 vote, is considered the narrow favorite above Bio, a 48-year-old retired army brigadier who was involved in two military takeovers in the turbulent 1990s.

Bio said in a statement his party had detected vote "irregularities" in Freetown and elsewhere, including "evidence of blatant ballot-stuffing".

The EU's Howitt cited a "low number" of irregularities reported so far. He said all complaints would be investigated.

Voters were eagerly awaiting the results. "We need a good, development-minded government," Jeremiah Komba Jimissa, 27, who runs the IT network at a Freetown hotel, said.

"We've come 10 years from the war, we're not going to go back," Jimissa, added, reflecting a repeatedly expressed view among Sierra Leoneans that they above all did not want! the country to slide back into conflict.

Although ethnic allegiances still shape Sierra Leone's electoral landscape - Koroma's APC draws support from the Temne and Limba peoples of the north, while the Mende of the south and east traditionally vote SLPP - both candidates face pressure to convert the mineral riches into jobs and improved livelihoods.

Iron ore shipments by British companies African Minerals and London Mining are expected to buoy the economy to 20 percent growth this year - below original forecasts of more than 50 percent but still one of the highest growth rates on the planet.

(Writing by Pascal Fletcher; Editing by Alison Williams)

Subject: RE: USA Africa Dialogue Series - ObamaCare Headed Back To Supreme Court

Bangura,

 

I need some information from the latest election in your Afrikan country. Help, please!! 

 

Kwaku Mensah

Chicago

 

 

 

 

From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com [mailto:usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Abdul Karim Bangura
Sent: Monday, November 26, 2012 5:34 PM
To: USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
Cc: leonenet
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - ObamaCare Headed Back To Supreme Court

 

ObamaCare Headed Back To Supreme Court

October 8, 2012 By Doug Book 9 Comments

inShare8

 

On the day Barack Obama signed ObamaCare bill into law, Matthew Staver, the founder and dean of the Liberty University School of Law filed one of the first private lawsuits against the new Act, claiming ObamaCare mandated the forced, direct funding of abortion, a clearly unconstitutional violation of the free exercise of religion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Though the University's lawsuit has been held up by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals which argued that the Anti-Injunction Act prevented the court hearing the merits of the case, that barrier was torn down by the June Supreme Court decision on ObamaCare. As a result, Liberty immediately renewed its petition that the Supreme Court review its case.

And on Monday, the first day of the new term, the Supreme Court ordered the Department of Justice to respond to Liberty University's suit. That means the Justices are taking very seriously the Liberty charge that both individuals and employers are being forced to directly fund abortion, a clear infringement upon the freedom of religious expression.

For two years the Obama Regime has claimed that no taxpayer funding of abortion is included in the ObamaCare law. That is a lie. For "…nestled within the 'individual mandate' in the Act—that portion of the Act requiring every American to purchase government-approved insurance or pay a penalty—is an 'abortion premium mandate'. "

As Staver puts it, ObamaCare, via extraordinarily secretive rules issued on March 15th, 2012 by Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Kathleen Sebelius, "funds [abortion] in two ways."

"First [of] all, for the individual, for the first time in history, it requires each individual to pay a particular fee and that goes directly into an abortion fund and that fund funds abortion. This fee doesn't go into a general fund, some of which funds other surgeries or medical treatment, some of which might fund abortion. No, this goes into a specific fund that funds abortion. (It's the) very first time in history you can trace the dollar to the actual abortion."

In addition, employers–even those associated with religious institutions—will also be forced by federal law to fund abortions.

And incredibly, many who sign up for plans which charge for and provide abortion coverage may never even know it! For, "if a health plan covers abortion, [HHS rules] forbid the plan from calling attention to that fact in any of its advertising or explanatory materials."  As National Right to Life puts it, "this provision seems designed for no other purpose than to ensure that many people who would not deliberately sign up for abortion-covering plans will do so inadvertently, because of the federally enforced gag rule."

In deciding which cases will be heard by the Supreme Court, the "Rule of Four" applies. That is, if four justices agree a case should be heard, a writ of certiorari will be issued to the petitioner and the case will be placed on the court's docket. Needless to say there are currently four justices who were both shocked and outraged that Chief Justice John Roberts authored his contrived "pass" for the clearly unconstitutional ObamaCare law during its first appearance before the Court. It would not be surprising that these four justices should call ObamaCare back before the Court during the new term. The Court's demand that the DOJ respond to Liberty's accusations is a vitally important first step.

The Liberty University lawsuit is one of many contesting the grotesque assault on individual liberty known as ObamaCare. Perhaps it will be the one which gives John Roberts the opportunity to rescue his reputation and redeem career.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-Africa Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin.
For current archives, visit http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
For previous archives, visit http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue-
unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
 
 

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-Africa Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin.
For current archives, visit http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
For previous archives, visit http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue-
unsubscribe@googlegroups.com