{"id":248,"date":"2026-05-15T13:23:39","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T13:23:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\/?p=248"},"modified":"2026-05-15T13:23:41","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T13:23:41","slug":"tayib-bah-calls-for-end-to-winner-takes-all-politics-pushes-for-united-government","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\/?p=248","title":{"rendered":"Tayib Bah Calls for End to \u2018Winner-Takes-All\u2019 Politics, Pushes for United Government"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong><em>By John Kelly Marah<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Retired senior police officer, former student activist, and human rights advocate, Tayib Bah, has called for an end to Sierra Leone\u2019s \u201cwinner-takes-all\u201d political system, urging the adoption of a more inclusive governance model that promotes unity, accountability, and national cohesion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Speaking at an extraordinary press conference in Freetown, Bah said his return to Sierra Leone was motivated by deep concern over the country\u2019s increasing political polarization and what he described as a persistent culture of \u201crevenge, greed and vindictiveness\u201d that often accompanies political transitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bah, who played a prominent role during the historic 1977 student demonstrations at Fourah Bay College, reflected on his longstanding commitment to national justice and democratic reforms. He recounted how he became involved in student activism after opposing economic measures reportedly linked to recommendations by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which included plans to reduce the country\u2019s labor force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI love this country and I have fought for this country for several years,\u201d Bah stated, emphasizing that his activism had always been driven by a desire to protect ordinary Sierra Leoneans and promote social justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The retired officer, who joined the Sierra Leone Police Force in 1984, also spoke about his professional challenges, including what he described as victimization within the system and his eventual dismissal. According to Bah, he later challenged the dismissal at the ECOWAS Court, where he secured a favorable ruling that he believes paved the way for Sierra Leoneans seeking justice for violations of their rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Expressing dissatisfaction with Sierra Leone\u2019s political environment, Bah warned that the current political structure fuels division, mistrust, and hostility between rival political parties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe share one DNA as Sierra Leoneans. We share our sorrows, our happiness and our wealth. Why can\u2019t we share power?\u201d he questioned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bah dismissed suggestions that his intervention was politically motivated or linked to personal ambitions, insisting that he has no interest in public office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI am not here for politics. I want to be an elder statesman. I want to help build a Sierra Leone where political affiliation is no longer a stigma,\u201d he declared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Advocating for reforms, Bah proposed a governance system that would encourage greater political inclusion, arguing that proportional representation (PR) could enhance accountability and reduce corruption through shared responsibility in governance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He criticized what he described as a recurring cycle in which successive governments allegedly target political opponents through commissions of inquiry, dismissals, and intimidation, warning that such actions continue to undermine national unity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe national cake is not a trophy. It is a meal for every Sierra Leonean,\u201d Bah remarked, while calling on journalists to play a leading role in fostering national dialogue and political tolerance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He further appealed to the media, describing journalists as the \u201cfourth estate,\u201d to actively contribute to shaping a peaceful political culture as the country gradually approaches the 2028 general elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bah maintained that Sierra Leone\u2019s long-term development and stability depend on political inclusiveness, peaceful coexistence, and governance systems that reflect the country\u2019s shared values and collective identity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By John Kelly Marah Retired senior police officer, former student activist, and human rights advocate, Tayib Bah, has called for an end to Sierra Leone\u2019s \u201cwinner-takes-all\u201d political system, urging the adoption of a more inclusive governance model that promotes unity, accountability, and national cohesion. Speaking at an extraordinary press conference in Freetown, Bah said his [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":249,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Tayib Bah Calls for End to \u2018Winner-Takes-All\u2019 Politics, Pushes for United Government - Daybreak Newspaper<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\/?p=248\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tayib Bah Calls for End to \u2018Winner-Takes-All\u2019 Politics, Pushes for United Government - Daybreak Newspaper\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By John Kelly Marah Retired senior police officer, former student activist, and human rights advocate, Tayib Bah, has called for an end to Sierra Leone\u2019s \u201cwinner-takes-all\u201d political system, urging the adoption of a more inclusive governance model that promotes unity, accountability, and national cohesion. Speaking at an extraordinary press conference in Freetown, Bah said his [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\/?p=248\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Daybreak Newspaper\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-15T13:23:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-05-15T13:23:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image_2026-05-15_062321452.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"380\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"261\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Daybreak Website\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Daybreak Website\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\\\/?p=248#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\\\/?p=248\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Daybreak Website\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4d886fc91a0a5f36f7dccc03c3a5e108\"},\"headline\":\"Tayib Bah Calls for End to \u2018Winner-Takes-All\u2019 Politics, Pushes for United Government\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-15T13:23:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-05-15T13:23:41+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\\\/?p=248\"},\"wordCount\":517,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\\\/?p=248#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/image_2026-05-15_062321452.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\\\/?p=248#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\\\/?p=248\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\\\/?p=248\",\"name\":\"Tayib Bah Calls for End to \u2018Winner-Takes-All\u2019 Politics, Pushes for United Government - Daybreak Newspaper\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\\\/?p=248#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\\\/?p=248#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/image_2026-05-15_062321452.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-15T13:23:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-05-15T13:23:41+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4d886fc91a0a5f36f7dccc03c3a5e108\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\\\/?p=248#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\\\/?p=248\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\\\/?p=248#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/image_2026-05-15_062321452.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/image_2026-05-15_062321452.png\",\"width\":380,\"height\":261},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\\\/?p=248#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Tayib Bah Calls for End to \u2018Winner-Takes-All\u2019 Politics, Pushes for United Government\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Daybreak Newspaper\",\"description\":\"Day Break Newspaper\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4d886fc91a0a5f36f7dccc03c3a5e108\",\"name\":\"Daybreak Website\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/827c265fa1ef83e41f314c342204c12cbbd86caddbfeae34b2bbd70cf6af5aa8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/827c265fa1ef83e41f314c342204c12cbbd86caddbfeae34b2bbd70cf6af5aa8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/827c265fa1ef83e41f314c342204c12cbbd86caddbfeae34b2bbd70cf6af5aa8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Daybreak Website\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\\\/?author=2\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Tayib Bah Calls for End to \u2018Winner-Takes-All\u2019 Politics, Pushes for United Government - Daybreak Newspaper","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\/?p=248","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Tayib Bah Calls for End to \u2018Winner-Takes-All\u2019 Politics, Pushes for United Government - Daybreak Newspaper","og_description":"By John Kelly Marah Retired senior police officer, former student activist, and human rights advocate, Tayib Bah, has called for an end to Sierra Leone\u2019s \u201cwinner-takes-all\u201d political system, urging the adoption of a more inclusive governance model that promotes unity, accountability, and national cohesion. Speaking at an extraordinary press conference in Freetown, Bah said his [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\/?p=248","og_site_name":"Daybreak Newspaper","article_published_time":"2026-05-15T13:23:39+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-05-15T13:23:41+00:00","og_image":[{"width":380,"height":261,"url":"https:\/\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image_2026-05-15_062321452.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Daybreak Website","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Daybreak Website","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\/?p=248#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\/?p=248"},"author":{"name":"Daybreak Website","@id":"https:\/\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4d886fc91a0a5f36f7dccc03c3a5e108"},"headline":"Tayib Bah Calls for End to \u2018Winner-Takes-All\u2019 Politics, Pushes for United Government","datePublished":"2026-05-15T13:23:39+00:00","dateModified":"2026-05-15T13:23:41+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\/?p=248"},"wordCount":517,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\/?p=248#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image_2026-05-15_062321452.png","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\/?p=248#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\/?p=248","url":"https:\/\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\/?p=248","name":"Tayib Bah Calls for End to \u2018Winner-Takes-All\u2019 Politics, Pushes for United Government - Daybreak Newspaper","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\/?p=248#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\/?p=248#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image_2026-05-15_062321452.png","datePublished":"2026-05-15T13:23:39+00:00","dateModified":"2026-05-15T13:23:41+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4d886fc91a0a5f36f7dccc03c3a5e108"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\/?p=248#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\/?p=248"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\/?p=248#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image_2026-05-15_062321452.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image_2026-05-15_062321452.png","width":380,"height":261},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\/?p=248#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Tayib Bah Calls for End to \u2018Winner-Takes-All\u2019 Politics, Pushes for United Government"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\/","name":"Daybreak Newspaper","description":"Day Break Newspaper","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4d886fc91a0a5f36f7dccc03c3a5e108","name":"Daybreak Website","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/827c265fa1ef83e41f314c342204c12cbbd86caddbfeae34b2bbd70cf6af5aa8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/827c265fa1ef83e41f314c342204c12cbbd86caddbfeae34b2bbd70cf6af5aa8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/827c265fa1ef83e41f314c342204c12cbbd86caddbfeae34b2bbd70cf6af5aa8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Daybreak Website"},"url":"https:\/\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\/?author=2"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=248"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":250,"href":"https:\/\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248\/revisions\/250"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/249"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=248"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=248"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/daybreaknewspapersl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=248"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}