Commentary By Kandeh Sesay ( Salone Malema)
Under the leadership of His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio who also doubles as the Chairman of the SLPP party, the democratic space of the SLPP party has been thwarted by selecting Mohamed Gento Kamara as against the other aspirants that are aspiring for the SLPP symbol to contest the mayoral position for the Freetown Municipality in the June 24 multitier elections.
Many people have described the act of His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio to handpick Mohamed Gento Kamara as very undemocratic as it has the proclivity to create rifts in the SLPP party. Others have argued that the very existence for which the SLPP party was established has been dwindled in the name of giving Mohamed Gento a space to contest. Truth be said, Mohamed Gento Kamara name rings a bell in the Mayoral race but that should not warrant a bastardization of the SLPP party constitution; a reputation that the late Tejan Kabbah and others fought very hard to leave with the younger generation to follow.
It is never too late to make amends, therefore, His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio should have a rethink of declaring the political space open for the mayoral race in the SLPP party by allowing the delegates to elect the candidate of their choice. A precedent that is not prided on the ground of democracy will never stand the test of time as its end product will be counterproductive.
The Sierra Leone Peoples Party was established to give all Sierra Leonean hope for democracy and multi-party politics, and it has been known for its internal democracy and given opportunity to all to participate, the endorsement of Mohamed Gento Kamara by President Bio has left the other aspiring candidates for the mayoral position in western Area urban with no option but been disenfranchised of their democratic rights. It is true that Mohamed Gento Kamara who commands respect in the Western Area Urban is very popular but other candidates also have huge followers. His endorsement has indicated that the SLPP has borrowed the selection process which the opposition APC has frowned at since they lose the 2018 elections.
Mohamed Gento Kamara has been seen as the blue eyed boy when he made a pronouncement of contesting in the forthcoming Mayoral election of the Freetown Municipality. His endorsement by the President of the country that doubles as the Chairman of the SLPP given him edge over other aspirants for the mayoral symbol of the SLPP party.
In the press release issued in August 2020, the National Secretary General of the SLPP party, Umaru Napoleon Koroma said that in keeping with the changing dynamics of the democratic landscape of the world in general and Sierra Leone in particular, the Sierra Leone People’s Party saw a compelling need to amend its 1995 constitution, without any breach of the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone.
The press release added that, consistent with the statutory provisions of the 1991 Sierra Leone constitution vis-a-vis Section 35 subsection 2, on the 8th of December 2018, the National Executive Council (NEC) of the party, mandated the National Executive to set up a committee that was specifically tasked with the responsibility of reviewing 1995 SLPP Constitution as amended.
He also said, in line with democratic and statutory regulations, the SLPP have clearly raised the bar for democratic plurality and practice in the national body politics, adding further that, as the oldest surviving ruling party in West Africa, this latest exercise has set the pace for a proper and effective democratic practice in the Republic of Sierra Leone.
With this statement, many have called the party executive to do a rethink and give opportunity to other aspiring candidates because SLPP dominated politics in Sierra Leone in the years following World War II.
It could be recalled that, in 1955 and 1956, riots occurred in Sierra Leone, originally sparked by the artisan union’s strike over pay; further unrest followed strikes by transport workers. These events grew animosity between the SLPP and Krio parties, especially the Cyril Rogers-Wright led United Sierra Leone Progressive Party, established in 1954. The SLPP positioned itself as “the countryman’s party,” and garnered the support of tribal chiefs.
Therefore, for this viable history of the SLPP party to be killed all in the name of giving symbol to Mohamed Gento Kamara is not only inhuman but an act of eroding the democratic space of the SLPP party.
