The presidential and parliamentary elections of August 11 have come and gone with little or no incident that would undermine the outcome. If anything international and regional observers left awash with praise for the largely peaceful and fair manner in which the National Electoral Commission, the government, the opposition parties, and the people conducted themselves in the process.

I think we must be proud of ourselves as a nation. This is more the reason why we must heed the call by NEC chief Dr Christiana Thorpe to ensure a repeat performance of this good practice in the run-off slated for September 8 to complete the coming of age of our democracy.

But news coming from Freetown and some parts of the upcountry seem to suggest that some desperate people, acting on the orders of some frustrated politicians, are bent on spoiling the party of a peaceful transition from one elected leadership to another for the first time in the history of Sierra Leone. I think the run-off is going to be a critical test not only for democracy in Sierra Leone but also for the out-going presidency of Tejan Kabbah, who would never be forgiven by the people of Sierra Leone if he fails to manage the final stages of his leadership and take his constitutional exist.

If the state police apparatus was put in full gear during the final days of campaigning leading up to the August 11 vote making the whole exercise so peaceful and credible, I see no reason why the Kabbah government cannot ensure the same to happen during the campaigning leading to the run-off. Failure to do this by the government would no doubt raise questions about a somewhat hidden agenda. There is already a conspiracy theory that the government may attempt to stage manage chaos in the country to justify the declaration of a state of emergency, which would automatically stall the run-off, if they sense that they are losing out to the opposition APC party, whose chances in the run-off have been boosted by winning a clear parliamentary majority, and enjoying the support of Margai's PMDC party, which turned out to be a strong third force that may well have the balance of power

When you put Kabbah's threat yesterday on state radio to declare a State of Emergency if things get out of hand in the context of this conspiracy theory, one should not be in a hurry to dismiss it as just another political demagogy. The people of Sierra Leone and the international community should keep a watch on every move made by the Tejan Kabbah until he hands over power peacefully and credibly. In the event where Kabah thinks his state security apparatus cannot cope with the situation, which is unlikely given the few isolated incidents which are not enough to cause panic, he should call for an emergency deployment of UN troops as a back-up, instead of resorting to the use of emergency powers. Besides Sierra Leone is just emerging from a 11-year civil war and so many people are really not ready to go that path again even if some disillusioned politicians, who may think that they have been destined by God to continue lording it over a people who have in any case been longing to see their back, may want it otherwise.

My advice to Kabbah therefore is not to listen to detractors who may want to use him as a hostage to cling on to power and spoil his peaceful retirement. Even when his government failed woefully in delivering on the much cherished human development, which in a big way contributed in the massive turning of voters against his chosen successor, people would at least remember him for having tried to nurture and sustain the democratic process if, and only if, he succeeds in managing the situation until he hands over to his elected successor.