- 30 January 2023
At Supreme Court… SLPP Wins PR System Case
By Henry Kargbo
The ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) has Friday 27th January 2023 won the Proportional Representation system petition at the Supreme Court of Sierra Leone presided over by Hon. Chief Desmond Justice Berbatunde Edwards.
Delivering a fifty-two page judgment on the petition filed by the main opposition which challenging the legitimacy of the use of the PR system to conduct the June 24th multi-tier elections, the Hon Chief Justice Edwards and four others ruled in favour of the Government of Sierra Leone and the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL) to use the PR system of voting in June 24th elections.
It could be recalled that a notice of motion dated, 28th November 2022 was filed by the plaintiffs, Hon Abdul Kargbo and Councillor Hariaku, instituted action in the Supreme Court title: “FCCT” to invoke the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, pursuant to Section 124 and 127 of the Constitutional Act No. 6 of 1991.
He said the following release amongst others including, the declaration of a proper interpretation of Section 38 (A) of the Constitutional Amendment Act No. 15 of 2001, adding that the declaration that the directive by the president to the ECSL to hold every public election for ordinary members of parliament by the PR system where an extant and substantive constituency is ultra-violence to the constitution.
Hon Justice Edwards told the Court that a declaration that the current parliament was itself elected on constituency basis as provided for in Section 38 (1) (2)(3) and that these constituencies are substantive, adding that a proper declaration that revision of constituencies as provided for in Section 4 of the Constitution does not necessary results in the establishment of constituencies as stipulated in Section 38 (1)(2) and (3) of the Constitution. He said that the Section provides for the people when existing constituencies should be reviewed.
The learned Hon Judge said that in 2022 a bill entitled “Public Elections Bill’’ was introduced in parliament and Clause 57 of the said bill provided that the general election of MPs other than Paramount Chief MPs shall be one member constituency system under Section 2 of Section 38 of the Constitution.
He added that during the first and second reading of the bill it was evidenced that there was strong and vocal opposition to the bill in so far as it purported to reintroduce the District Block System for the ordinary MPs.
In his ruling Hon Justice Desmond Berbatunde Edwards said that the Speaker of of the House of Parliament perhaps sensing the mood of Parliament later removed Clause 57 for consideration by Parliament.
The speaker the announced that the PR system of elections must always be part of the laws of Sierra Leone in light of the amendment introduced by Section 38 (a) of the Constitutional Amendment Act No. 15 of 2001, adding that on 21st October 2022, the ECSL issued a press statement and stated that on the directives of the president of the Republic of Sierra Leone it would use the District Block voting system containing in Section 38 (A).
In his submission, the lead counsel representing the plaintiffs, one of the drafters of the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone, Dr Abdulai Osman Conteh during the opening/first hearing said that the case is about the merit of the PR system but the crucial issues is whether the 2023 multiplier elections involving parliamentary and local council elections should be held through the PR system, which strikes the heart of the Rule of Law.
Dr Conteh argued that there should be no reason for PR system of elections in a democratic country governed by the Rule of Law, pointing that it was Section 38 (A) (1) of the Constitutional Amendment Act No.15 of 2001 that introduce such a system but that it must be in conjunction with Section 38 (1) of the Constitution of Sierra Leone Act No. 6 of 1991, which has been posed in constituency base elections in which case it must be concluded that Section 38 (A) is not free standing or ultra-net.
Chief Justice furthered in his ruling that Robert Kowa representing the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, replied that as at the time of filing the motion in November 2022 by counsels representing the plaintiffs, the Constitutional Instrument was yet to be a law and therefore refer the submission of Dr. Conteh and team as pre-emptive strike.
After his ruling he therefore ordered fines of the two plaintiffs to pay the sum of Three Million Leones to the defendants.