By Alpha Abu
The Chairman of the Political Parties Registration Commission (PPRC), Abdulai Masiambay Bangurah has told a news conference in Freetown on Thursday 18 August 2021 that the only Presidential candidate in the 2018 elections that presented to the commission a financial report of his individual campaign expenses was Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP) flag bearer and now President, Julius Maada Bio.
The PPRC boss who was apprising the media on the proposed new Act of the commission, highlighted a series of shortcomings by the country’s political parties in the last polls, however singled out SLPP and the All Peoples Congress (APC) party for being only the two from 17 political parties, that submitted their end of elections financial reports to the PPRC.
Bangurah explained comprehensively about the Act being developed that would redefine the functions and outlook of the PPRC which he said had up till now, been restricted to just the registering of parties and as an oversight body. He alluded the present status of the commission to that of a toothless bulldog, and pointed out that the act if approved by parliament will make them an enhanced regulatory outfit with wider powers in enforcing regulations.
He said International Observers in the last elections after thoroughly assessing the conduct of the entire process identified gaps, and came up with recommendations that instruments in the old act be amended and replaced.
Some of the new laws will empower PPRC to entertain complaints by ordinary members of a political party and not just those of the executive in the event of intra-party dispute. Such a provision, according to Bangurah would allow the concerns of ordinary party members whom he described as real owners of the party to be heard, and not just those of the executive whose positions could just be temporary.
He accused all the political parties of failing to honour their reporting obligations, neglecting in that respect, the submission of yearly audited statements and the list of their Executive membership from the top to the lowest cadre.
The PPRC Chairman said the instruments in the new act would spell out the intermediate powers bestowed on the commission to include the imposition of fines for various acts of misconduct. He said, for instance, persons who spread hate speech in campaign trails and are identified to belong to a particular political parties will have their party punished.
Political parties would be obliged to present to the commission copies of their campaign budget and expenses and accounts of the nature of their fundraising.
Bangurah said the 2.5 million Leones party registration fee might be raised to 100 million Leones, saying the present fee is derisory when compared to other countries in the sub-region. According to him, discussions on that aspect are ongoing. The PPRC boss also stated that parties may have to re-register after every five years.
He also spoke about a proposal by the commission to get the government to provide parties with a yearly subvention as support to boost their operations. He however asserted that such a subvention will be given to only those parties having what he called” political relevance”, with the size of the subvention depending on the demographic presence and strength of each party. He revealed that the present government has so far responded well to discussions on the proposed subvention. He believed such a provision will build the capacity of parties and the offer will, in turn, enhance the oversight responsibilities of the commission by having something to hold on to, in case of non-compliance by a party.
The PPRC chairman explained about the new act developed by a consultant partly funded by the EU, which has freed the commission from engaging with the Law Reform office in its formulation. Bangurah said they will have to engage political stakeholders such as parties, the National Electoral Commission and the Office of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, with the draft of the act already being perused by the office’s parliamentary division.
Bangurah said Sierra Leone is going through a nascent democracy but believed the commission has to catch up with global trends and highlighted the request the commission has made for an expansion and introduction of new offices within the commission and other developments. He indicated plans to have the commission remove the “Registration” component in its name to redefine its expected new and expanded role, and the commission’s Registrar to be now named Executive Secretary.
Copyright © 2021 Politico Online (20/08/21)
