May 2021
Segepoh Solomon Thomas Esq.
A very instructive definition of
the role of Political Parties is to
be found in the Spanish Constitution,
Act 6, which provide
thus:
“Political parties are the expression of political
pluralization; they contribute to the
formation and expression of the will of the
people and are a fundamental instrument
for political participation. Their creation
and the exercise of their activities are free
in so far as they respect the constitution
and the law. Their internal structure and
operation must be democratic.”
Internal democracy in political parties,
also known as intra-party democracy, refers
to the level and methods of including party
members in the decision making including
internal elections for Leadership positions
and deliberation within the party structure.
Intra-party democracy is usually known
to nurture citizens’ political competencies
and/or producing more capable representatives
which in turn ensures that the
party produces better policies and political
programmes.
Although the majority of countries the
world over aspire towards democratic
political systems there are few with real
legal/regulatory measures that dictate intrapolitical
party democracy. Among the few
is the Republic of Sierra Leone.
The Sierra Leone Constitution, Act No.6 of
1991 makes it mandatory, i.e. as a requirement
to exist as a political party and participate
in national elections, for all political
parties to conform at all costs to internal
party democracy. This mandatory provision
is to be found in Section 35(2) of the said
Constitution which provide thus
“The internal organization of a political
party SHALL conform to democratic principles,
and its aims, objectives, purposes
and programmes shall not contravene or
be inconsistent with, any provisions of
this Constitution.”
This fundamentally means that any activity
of a political party including its internal
organization, aims, objectives, purposes,
programmes, etc. that is in contravention
of the provisions of the 1991 Constitution
including Section 35(2) could affect a political
party’s eligibility for taking part in a
national election. Of course, over the years,
citizens of Sierra Leone have had to witness
instances where some political parties did
not strictly comply with internal democratic
prerequisites and yet fully participated in the
national elections without much challenge
from other contesting political parties or
persons. I shall state that this is so because
Sierra Leone is by far a less litigious country
and its citizens have therefore little or
less interest subjecting provisions of their
country’s Constitution to real interpretation
and determination by the Supreme Court
which is also the country’s constitutional
Court.
It is common knowledge that there have
been intra-party litigations bordering on
democratic rights in recent times by various
political party members against their respective
party machineries but, like I stated, there
has been no challenge to the eligibility of a
political party from outside its membership
on grounds of contravention of the strict
provisions of the Constitution relating to
intra-party democracy as enshrined particularly
in Section 35(2).
The questions which therefore beg for
answers are as follows:-
(1) Is it that because there has been
no such legal challenge to the
eligibility of a political party
from contesting a national election
means political parties shall
continue taking advantage of that
strict requirement as provided for
by the Constitution?
(2) What role has the Political Parties
Registration Commission played
so far in addressing this mishap?
(3) Is it likely that such legal challenge
would eventually materialize leading
to the 2023 elections?
My pinch of salt.