BY ABDUL BERO KAMARA
21/09/2022
Party members both at home and in the diaspora are confused about the current state of affairs of the party.
The majority of the members are clueless about what is going on, so they want to know what is the current state, and what is the next step?
The 21-man committee is at war with each other, hence there is a disconnect between the party membership and those to whom the court has given the responsibility to run the activities of the party in the interim.
Emotions are running high, some members are jittery considering time is not on the side of the party.
Against that backdrop, I thought it necessary to fill the void to calm down the jittery and nervous comrades.
As it stands, the divided 21-man met PPRC on Monday to address the objections to the rules.
For your information, just would like comrades all to know that all the objections have been addressed, except one – “Membership “
The chairman Alfred Peter Conteh wants it open, whereas the other faction is kicking against that because it violates chapter 12 (a) (11) of the APC 2022 constitution.
What the Constitution says about membership – please see the chapters and articles of the APC 2022 Constitution that relate to membership
CHAPTER 2: MEMBERSHIP
ARTICLE 9: qualification for membership
a. A person is eligible for Party membership if he:
I. is a citizen of Sierra Leone and has attained the age of eighteen;
II. accepts this Constitution, the aims, objectives, principles, programs and discipline of the Party;
III. is not a member of another political Party in Sierra Leone; and
IV. has paid the requisite membership fees prescribed by the Party.
ARTICLE 10: ENROLMENT AND REGISTER OF MEMBERS
(a.) Any person who satisfies the criteria Set out in Article 9 of this Constitution may apply to the Party in a prescribed form to become a member.
(b)Any person who wishes to become a member of the Party may apply for membership in any district that he resides or hails from, or in any other branch of the Party.
ARTICLE 12: RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF MEMBERS
(a.) Every member of the Party shall:
I. have the right to participate fully in the activities of the Party provided such a member is current in his financial obligations to the Party and subject to rules and regulations governing such activities;
II. have the right to vote and be voted into office or post of the Party during any election in accordance with this Constitution and subject to the rules and regulations of such election provided such a member is current in his financial obligations to the Party;
Let me respectfully draw your attention to chapter 12 and its preceding articles which is the bone of contention between the two factions
Alfred and his faction wants it open – which means anybody within a ward, or constituency should be allowed to vote in APC elections without a membership card
However, the other faction says only registered and party card-carrying members should have the right to vote as stipulated in chapter 12 (a) (1) of the APC 2022 Constitution.
Because of the contention among the ITGC members on the issue under review, they could not address the issue; therefore, they will be at PPRC tomorrow 22/09/2022 again to address the membership issue.
The party has a timeline and by now the lower level election should have started, sadly Alfred Peter Conteh wants to hold the party to ransom because he is completely ignorant and clueless.
Do I have to be a rocket scientist to know that leaving it open means even SLPP or members from other parties will take advantage of the system.
You know what! Let me just stop here for now before I say some stupid things
Until then stay tuned from
The last man standing
