By Henry Kargbo
Lead counsel representing the main opposition All People’s Congress (APC) party in ongoing constitutional interpretation matter filed at Supreme Court of Sierra Leone, Abdulai Osman Conteh has on Monday 9th January 2023 argued that there is no reason for the use of a Proportional Representation System in the country June 24th multitier elections.
Dr Conteh made the submission at the opening hearing of the controversal matter presided over by the Chief Justice Edward Babatunde and four other Judges.
He said that as at the filing the motion last November 2022 by Counsels for the plaintiffs purported that the Constitutional Instrument was yet to be law, for which Dr. Abdulai O. Conteh and team took a pre-emptive strike.
In his further submissions Dr. Contech argued that as per constitutional provisions the census had already altered the population density which required review of constituency boundaries. He pointed out that the president acted within his powers and the constitution.
R. B. Kowa for and on behalf of government submitted that the Supreme Court cannot enquire into parliamentary proceedings of Section 94 (2) of the constitution that in that application no certificate of maturity was filed.
In the submission of lawyer Osman Ibrahim Kanu, the court lacks the powers to hear the relief sought by the plaintiffs that the president acted beyond his constitutional powers to have given such directives for a public election to be held using a PR system instead on a constituency base electoral system for an ordinary member of parliament.
Representing the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone Dr. Emmanuel Saffa Abdulai, said everything that has to do with public elections concerns the second respondent and therefore is in the exclusive position backed by law with special reference to Section 38 Sub-Section 7 of the Constitution to determine what to do based on the available circumstances.
He said that the ECSL acted reasonably and followed due process of the law that it was practically impossible to conduct the elections based on available population figures and the timeline.
He recalled there has being a systematic pattern of elections after census and boundaries delimitation, after the president had declared an election date.
He said it would be undemocratic to use old census results to do fresh boundaries when there has a recent population growth of about 57,000.
The Chief Justice who is the presiding Judge having informed counsels representing the plaintiff and the respondents that they will send notices to both counsels for the judgment.
