President Julius Maada Bio has succeeded in imposing the Proportional Representation – District Block electoral system on the people. Like a military order, it came from State House instructing the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL) to use the PR system for the conduct of the June 24th 2023 multi-tier elections. But the people have denounced it, describing it as imposing, dictatorial and have called for constitutional interpretations.
Government’s interferences with the functions of the ECLS few months to elections, has raised suspicions of foul play, with ignitition of public concerns over Bio’s disregard for rules governing public elections. It has also undermined efforts made in the country’s democratic consolidations, as the PR system has the proclivity of denting government’s reputation if any.
Since he assumed office on 4th April 2018 as president to date, Bio has never allow democratic institutions to function independently. He always dictates his illegalities on them. He has transformed constitutionality into unconstitutionality to suit his comfort, against the wishes and aspirations of the opposition as if Sierra Leone has returned to military rule. Bio’s brand of adulterated democracy is unacceptable. He must be discouraged to relinquish it and rely on the true values of democracy by ignoring his widely rejected undemocratic PR system, to avoid setting another bad precedents.
With the imposed PR system, so many people will be disenfranchised come June 24th 2023, because the scheme has already denied voters their constitutional rights to elect their choice of candidates to represent them at the various leadership levels. That is undemocratic, and it must be dropped now. Also with the PR system, candidates will not be voted in, but imposed on the people by political parties, based the highest bidder for a given political party symbol. In other words, the PR system empower highest bidder politicians and political parties rather than the electorate. In fact, PR politicians will never be transparent nor be accountable to the people. That is why it should have no space in civilized democracies, with no exception of Sierra Leone. The PR system ploy emerged after dozens of failed attempts by the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) lawmakers in trying to bulldoze through the House in June this year, but it didn’t work and was kicked out, although Bio and ECSL have imposed it on the people.
Bio’s imposition of the PR system on the people clearly exposed his hidden plans to rig the June 24th 2023 elections.
This because of the magnitude of New Direction failures in delivering vows made in 2018, which has left Bio so unpopular to a point of exposing his desperation to secure a second term through crooked means. That’s why Bio looks nervously worried, roaming around the country few months to electioneering campaigns. It also speaks to his complete lack of confidence and in himself.
Moreover, the notorious census, the national identification number scheme and now the PR system, are certainly not Bio’s last straw to secure votes from opposition strongholds in the Western Area and in the North.
Challenging the lllegalities further the opposition and non-state actors have joined in condemning the imposition. They have called for its immediate reversal in the best interests of sanity. They charged that laws governing public elections be sanitized to create a level plain field for the participations of all in process.
There are fears that the imposed PR system prepares ground for an emerging one party rule in Sierra Leone. A political situation aimed at empowering the SLPP to stay in office forever, as it is in South Africa, where only the African National Congress win elections since the reintroduction of multi-party democracy in 1994. But this is impossible in Sierra Leone.
Leaders of National Grand Coalition and the All People’s Congress are on the verge to the Supreme Court of Sierra Leone for constitutional interpretation, though they are somehow pessimistic about the independent and objectivity of the Supreme Court and the outcome of such matter.
The Opposition Leader in the House of Parliament, who also doubles as Leader of the main opposition APC, Hon. Chernor Ramadan Maju Bah has vowed to resist the imposition. He says they will challenge it in court. “…for the protection of the supremacy of our Constitution, I call on the President, to reverse his directive to the ECSL. The primary right of the people of Sierra Leone to elect their parliamentary representatives is through constituency – based elections, as enshrined in the constitution. I already know that the amendment of the constitution then, which allows for such exercise of discretion by the President, was necessitated by the prevalence of a civil war in Sierra Leone, and the impossibility of establishing constituencies across the country.” He said the circumstances have since changed and the country is no longer at war, nor in any part of the country inaccessible. Hon Bah recalled that after the end of the civil war, late President Alhaji Ahmed Tejan Kabbah immediately reverted to the constituency based elections system in 2007, as it promote participations and good governance.
Hon. Bah continued; “Tied to the above, constituencies already exist across the country, and we have held three successive successful general elections using the constitutionally prescribed Constituency system. It would therefore be illogical, unprecedented and unconstitutional to revert to a PR system whose introduction was necessitated by the conditions of a raging war in the country. I would like to assure the public that should we sense a desire to not reverse this decision, we will use all legal remedies to ensure that the rights of the people of Sierra Leone are not denied them, and that provisions of the Constitution are upheld”, he said.
On his official Twitter wall, Hon Bah recently twitted said; “MKKonnehECSL, conditions that warrant the use of the PR system as per the provisions you rely on DO NOT exist. Changes of such on the eve of elections are deliberate attempts to create a political impasse. Sierra Leone does not deserve this. We will legally resist this imposition.”
NGC Leader, Hon. Dr Kanden Kolleh Yumkella is also reported to have given a notice of motion, calling on the House to invite the Minister of Political Affairs, the Attorney General and Minister of Justice and the Chairman, ECSL for questioning regarding government’s imposed PR system.
Lawyer Joseph Fitzgerald Kamara said the courts will have to do the interpretations of the legality of the PR system. He twitted saying; “The press statement from Electoral Commission is unfortunate. Wilfully excludes the portion dealing with the conditions which must exist before PR can be invoked. Isn’t that misleading? We will challenge the Directive. Courts are put on test. Again why provoke constitutional crisis”.
The PR system could not have been imposed on the people now had it not been the massive failures of Bio in good governance, the fight against corruption, fiscal and economic governance, poor performance of the public sector, energy, water resources, peace, national unity, human rights etc. So imposed PR system is an agenda to the win elections. Political pundits and electoral law experts have described its illegal imposition as dictatorial.
Conversely, certain people hold the views that the PR system will also enable political parties such as the APC, NGC et al to secure parliamentary seats in the South-East.
Gauging views from different parts of the country on the PR system FORUM spoke to Fatmata Kangoma, a primary school teacher in Kenema, who said; “It is unacceptable for Bio to just impose the RP system on us like that, when we had long crossed that bridge. This is a complete reverse of our democracy. We should be moving forward in our democratic consolidations by now, rather than improvising fraudulent tricks to win elections. It is a shame on us as a nation.
Alimamy Bangura in Mile 91, Tonkolili district said; “I am disappointed at the rapid setback facing our democratic processes under the Bio regime. It is unimaginable for an incumbent government to be so jittery to a point that it can impose unpatriotic electoral laws to disenfranchise others so that they can win the elections. Bio should have come in with a military regime instead of calling his a democratically elected government. And the fact that the House didn’t approve the bill and it has now been imposed by the president, then Bio and the ECSL Chairman have committed a treasonable offence.
Melvin James, a stationer at Garrison Street in Freetown said; “The government has finally succeeded in rubbing the electorate again, by taking away their powers to elect their parliamentary representatives. This is no longer democracy, but exactly what Bio wants, and this is just another bad laws with no chance of promoting our democracy. It is sad that Bio is retrogressing gains he inherited from his predecessors, pointing out that the PR system is unacceptable.
