By Chernor Alimamy Kamara
The leader of the opposition in Parliament, Chernor Maju Bah has condemned plans to use the Proportional Representation (PR) system of voting at next year’s election instead of the Constituency -Based electioneering.
In a press statement issued by his office, arguments were raised that the conditions for PR System do not exist as per the Sierra Leone Constitution. Drawing reference to a press release issued by the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone (ECSL), dated 21st October 2022, in which it was stated that the President of Sierra Leone, Julius Maada Bio, directed the ECSL to conduct next year’s multi-tier elections using the District Block system, he said: “This is a serious constitutional breach that will significantly reverse the gains we have made in strengthening democracy in post-war Sierra Leone’’.
According to Bah, when the idea of using the PR system was initially introduced in Parliament under the Public Elections Bill 2022, it was heavily criticized and rejected by Members of Parliament which he said led to its eventual withdrawal.
He emphasized that, the proposed PR system also generated considerable controversy from members of the public, the civil society and the media, given its potential to limit the participation of citizens in the country's democratic process.
He said it is even more disturbing that such a change of the electoral system is being attempted on the eve of the multi-tier elections.
The opposition leader narrated that, using the PR system in place of the constituency voting would amount to taking away the rights of the people to choose their representatives directly and hand that power over to political parties.
He acknowledged that the Constitution of Sierra Leone (Amendment) Act, 2001 Section 38A of the 1991 Constitution, grants the President discretionary powers to consult with the Electoral Commission and direct them, to conduct elections on the basis of the existing districts.
He said, as it is, constituencies already exist and by Section 38 subsection (4) of the 1991 Constitution, ECSL shall only review such constituencies at intervals of not less than five years and not more than seven years. He reiterated that, it is still less than five years since the present constituencies were established.
He pointed to Section 38 sub-section (5) which says that; “Where the boundaries of any constituency are altered in accordance with the provisions of this section, that alteration shall come into effect upon the next dissolution of Parliament, after the alteration has been approved by Parliament.”
MP Bah expressed shock that ECSL has gone further to state that it will also conduct the local council elections on a District PR System. He said the pronouncements by the commission and the executive have the tendency to undermine its independence and credibility.
He said the amendment of the constitution then, allowing for such exercise of discretion by the late former President Alhaji Dr. Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, was necessitated by the prevalence of a civil war in Sierra Leone, and the impossibility of establishing constituencies across the country. But he said, circumstances have since changed, the country is no longer at war, nor is any part of the country inaccessible.
He pointed out that, after the end of the civil war, late President Kabba immediately reverted to the constituency based election in 2007, as it promotes participation and democratic good governance.
He said there are already constituencies existing across the country, noting that three successive general elections have been held in the country using the constitutionally prescribed constituency system. He said 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.
He vouched that they will use all legal remedies to ensure that the rights of the people of Sierra Leone are not denied, and that provisions of the constitution are upheld.
He urged President Bio to protect the supremacy of the constitution, and to reverse his earlier directive to the ECSL.
Copyright © 2022 Politico Online (26/10/22)
