By Saio Marrah
Smaller parties have called for a review of the Proportional Representation System of voting especially the percentage ceiling that would allow them to have seats in Parliament, and not just the two main parties.
This was among recommendations presented by the All Political Parties Association (APPA) to the tripartite committee at their Brookfields hotel Secretariat in Freetown, Monday 10th June.
The tripartite committee is reviewing and providing answers to electoral irregularities over the years.
APPA says the minimum threshold of 11.9 percent to sit in parliament “has forced us to return to the same duopoly of political parties we had in the past before we opted for multi-party electoral process’’.
APPA therefore recommended that the “PR System be canceled or at least be reformed by reducing the threshold from its current high level’’. APPA wants it to be 5percent or less for parliamentary representation.
They also asked for a review of the presidential run-off system where the leading candidate at the polls can be able to forge an alliance with other parties to avoid a run-off considering the underlying tension involved. Chairman of APPA, Prince Coker expressed the association’s dissatisfaction over the “exclusion” of the other political parties from the tripartite committee that comprised the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), the main opposition All People’s Congress (APC) and international partners.
On the June 2023 elections he said other parties participated and not just the SLPP and APC and they all should have been involved.
In his response, the Co-Chair of the tripartite committee representing the government of Sierra Leone, Emmanuel Gaima (Ph.D), after pointing out that the report of the tripartite committee would be presented to the president of the state, said he is with the view that the president will ensure the recommendations bears a national outlook.
He said according to the arrangement, the government is currently in discussions with the APC but that it does not mean the government would not listen to the other political parties.
He saluted APPA’s courage for displaying what he described as “patriotism and love of country” and for making their voices heard by presenting their recommendation to the committee.
Gaima assured that the committee will look at those recommendations that are in line with the terms of reference of the committee.
He said the hope is that the outcome of the tripartite committee report would be owned by all and thus, everyone will endorse and be proud of the outcome of the 2028 elections result that will not be contested.
The other Co-Chairman representing the main opposition APC, Kelfala Marah (Ph.D) after welcoming the recommendation, however said that it was unfair on the part of APPA to say that the process was not inclusive.
According to him they had conversations together with all other political parties across the country on the work of the tripartite committee at the committee’s secretariat and were all again involved through invitations during the committee’s regional consultative meetings.
He noted that those meetings were geared towards getting ideas from all political parties, Sierra Leone Association of Journalists and people from all walks of life with the belief that the work of the committee was to address national concerns.
In addition to those consultative meetings where all political parties participated, the committee provided suggestion boxes, where several bodies inclusive of other political parties made their recommendations.
After stressing that the committee’s doors were never closed, he assured that the recommendations from APPA would be taken into serious consideration.
Co-Chairperson Seraphine Inakana -UN resident Coordinator in Sierra Leone, said they are providing other support inclusive of technical capacity to the committee.
She said they want the report of the committee to be universally acceptable and of global standard, and that they were heading towards drafting the tripartite committee’s report.
She however noted that if APPA wanted to submit more it would be of added value to what they are doing and that they would look into the recommendations.
Ms. Inakana said the move shows that the political parties are willing to do what the UN would want to see at the end of the day.
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