By Mabinty M. Kamara
As part of setting up the party’s structures ahead of the 2023 general elections, the ruling Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP) has concluded the election of its Executive officials at its convention held from the 29th to 30th of December 2021 in Bo, southern Sierra Leone.
15 positions were contested by 45 aspirants. Three among the fifteen positions went unopposed including that of incumbent Umaru Napoleon Koroma who retained his post as the Party’s Secretary-General.
Presenting a three-year report of the party from the last delegate’s conference held in September 2017 in Kenema, the Secretary-General highlighted that the party has so far won 16 out of 26 bye-elections conducted over the years with political representations in all districts with the exception of Bombali, the base of the APC party in Sierra Leone. He added that with the support of some senior members of the party, they were able to raise 2 billion Leones for the refurbishment of the party headquarter on Wallace Johnson Street in Freetown which he said was in a dilapidated state prior to their winning of the national elections in 2018.
However, he stated that the party was still challenged with creating opportunities for young professionals in their party to get jobs.
One thousand and sixty-seven delegates were supposed to vote in the last delegate’s convention which saw Dr. Alex Prince Harding and Alpha Mohamed Kallon voted leader and Deputy Leader of the party respectively. The current Deputy Internal Affairs Minister Lahai Lawerence Leema was declared the Public Relations Officer of the Party for the second time. Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Anthony Brewa went unopposed as the party’s legal adviser 1 whilst lawyer Robert Kowa was declared the legal adviser 2 of the party after a tight contest with Member of Parliament Hindolo Ngevao. Alhaji F. Sheriff was elected National Chief Imam, while engineer Francis Lahai became the National Chaplain of the party. Musa Moigua was elected the National Organising Secretary, deputised by Alhassan Balugu George. Dr. Robert Charkanda got elected Deputy Secretary-General. Augustine J.J. Tommy was elected Young Generation Leader while Francess Virginia Anderson and Martha Concilia Kanagbo were elected National Financial Secretary and Treasurer, respectively. In earlier lower-level elections held within the party, Hawa Foray and Rosamond Mattia were elected Women’s leader and Deputy respectively.
President Julius Maada Bio was also endorsed as the 2023 flag bearer of the party. The decision as to who becomes his running mate is yet to be decided by him.
Speaking to the National Coordinator of the National Elections Watch, Rev. Francis Lahai he said the electoral process of the party has improved much more than it was during the conduct of the lower level elections.
Speaking to the press, the Independent Elections Monitoring and Oversight Committee (IEMOC) Chairperson said the election was a free and fair process under the watch of all. He applauded his team for the support towards achieving a successful outcome of the election, noting that voter turnout was great.
In his statement, President Julius Maada Bio described the delegate’s conference as the best and most transparent election in the history of the party. He, therefore, admonished all to maintain the peace of the process and accept the outcome of the elections.
Speaking to Politico, Lahia Lawrence Leema said the race was a bit tougher than he expected. However, he thanked the delegates for reposing confidence in him for the second time, saying that their actions have proven that the party is worth sacrificing for. Speaking on his personality, he said that the issues that many have raised against him about his temperament were mere propaganda as he has done professional services without any records of professional misconduct.
“If that is my character, it would have shown in my current dispensation. To transition from opposition to ruling is very difficult especially at the internal party level. Nobody ever complained about me perpetrating violence on them. In governance, a lot of people thought I would spend just three to four months and I would misbehave according to their expectations but I have been there for four years with no bad record,” he said.
He went on to add that he is a disciplined person which has helped him in the political fight. He said the 2023 elections are a critical one that requires a new and tactical strategy.
Speaking to Politico, Lawyer and Member of Parliament Hindolo Ngevao said the way the legal adviser positions were ranked was unprecedented, saying that the party constitution makes provision for an election of all that vie for the position and that the top three are selected to be the Party's legal advisers. But this time, he said it was broken into three with all contended. He said he has represented the party as a legal practitioner since 2011 without going to any other party. “The dynamics were multifaceted. Personally, I did not campaign. I did not go putting out flyers. I thought in the interest of the party, they were going to take the most senior lawyers in the party to serve the party. In that case, it would have been Brewa, my good self, and Kowa. But because of political dynamics, political gimmicks, we saw it broken into one, two, and three and people had their interests as per camps, as per future interests. I was merely contesting to serve the party,” he said.
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