Mother of 2, describes her maiden voting experience as “bitter-sweet”

By: Alusine Rehme Wilson

29 years old Isatu Kanu, a mother of two, says voting on Saturday, June 24 for the first time in the general elections of her country was “bitter-sweet.” Kanu who whose current age makes her eligible to would have first voted since 2012 said she could not exercise her franchise although eligible to vote in her nation’s last two general elections because of pregnancy and hunted by fatigue to show up at registration centres for the successive voter registrations. Thankfully, when the voter registration started for the June 24, 2023 election I was not pregnant this time, I was excited and had to show up early at the registration centre in my area and registered then showed up also for the verification and as early as 6:45am on Saturday, I had already joined other eligible voters at the Baptist primary school, Lady’s Mile, Makeni in readiness to vote, but my experience here today is a memorable one, Kanu explained. “Although I arrived early at the centre to vote I could not vote until 2:45pm. This was because voting did not start at 7:00am as the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL) had announced. The first voter in my centre 04192, the Baptist primary school, Lady’s Mile, Makeni I can recall voted successfully at 9:25am and then others before my time to vote reached." Furthering that "at some point, I almost got frustrated over the delay and wanted to return home without voting but I had to rethink and said to myself no I’m 29 now and wants to let my vote be my voice in the democratization process of my nation which I want to see develop rapidly with me making my choice to win through my votes, so I waited and to be frank, after casting my vote I felt fulfilled with excitements to have ever voted in our nation’s general election for the first time this year,” she told Awoko Newspaper with excitement.