By Al-Sankoh-Conteh
The debate over amending the Sierra Leone constitution’s 55% majority rule for presidential victory to 50% plus one has grown into a topic of worry and has faced broad Criticism. The SLPP government’s inclusion of district percentages as a mandatory criterion for presidential election, despite not being part of the Tripartite and Cowan CRC recommendations, has deepened mistrust and is likely to intensify violence and fraudulent practices during the 2028 election, particularly in areas traditionally supporting the SLPP.
Essentially, the former chairman of the SLPP publicly stated that the SLPP would not hand over power to the APC, while the current chairman also publicly asserted that the SLPP has control over the security forces. This implies that SLPP has incorporated fraudulent elections into their policy due to their growing unpopularity.
Prior to attaining independence, Sierra Leone’s citizens initially elected their parliamentary members under the first past the post system. After gaining independence, the country has consistently been divided into electoral constituencies and wards, and political parties have adapted to this system and getting votes that reflects support access the country.
Parliamentary elections in Sierra Leone, first introduced during the pre-independence colonial era, held formal legislative elections in May 1957 using single-member electoral districts under British administration, with constituencies being the basis for these elections. In the 1957 election, citizens cast their votes for the first time in individual constituencies in both the Colony and the Protectorate.
The 1962 Election: The inaugural general vote cast under universal adult voting rights as a sovereign entity preceding full independence.
Between 1996 and 2002, the nation functioned under a Proportional Representation (PR) system on a temporary basis, due to civil unrest that predominantly affected the country.
The general elections of 2007 returned to the constituency-based (First-Past-The-Post) system, after the 2004 national census delineated constituencies nationwide according to population, which was divided into 112 constituencies.
The implementation of the PR system in the 1996 general election ended up being a catastrophic failure, as it was clear that the national returning officer needed to subtract some votes from the leading candidate due to a plethora of reports indicating significant electoral manipulation.
The most troubling instance of the PR System was during the 2003 general election when the SLPP captured 83 seats, giving them a majority in parliament. In the 2023 election, the same pattern was repeated, with the party securing 81 seats due to the lack of transparency in the election.
So it is evident that the SLPP is not interested in having an electoral system that gives voice to the people.
In countries where the PR system has positively impacted the nation and populace and is generally embraced, it’s those places where conducting elections isn’t influenced by party-affiliated staff or commissioners from the ruling party.
Manipulation can be easily facilitated by the PR system if controlled by SLPP appiontees, in contrast to First-Past-The-Post, where manipulation is hard to achieve since winners are determined immediately after vote counting is finished.
The 2023 election in Sierra Leone, where votes were incorrectly assigned to the SLPP, failing to accurately reflect the populace’s choices, continues to touch the hearts of the citizens with sadness.
The PR system is perceived as contributing to severe political divisions, negative tribal feelings, and hate-driven politics, potentially fostering animosity
among voters, potentially fueling violence.
APC members continue to recount the ugly incident where their party’s supporters’ houses were burned, with APC party agents blocked from observing the election in most of the Southeast.
Observing the SLPP government’s haste to amend the constitution and alter election laws underscores that 2028 may encounter the most severe form of election manipulation and violence.
It seems like the PR System isn’t well-suited for Sierra Leone, where we’d prefer a First-Past-The-Post model. This would enable ordinary citizens to vote for their councillors and Members of Parliament in their constituencies.
