The Political Party Registration Commission (PPRC) on Wednesday 3rd May 2023 launched and formerly inaugurated the District Multi Party Forum (DMPF) at its Lamina Sankoh office in Freetown.
A significant number of registered political parties graced the occasion and made meaningful contributions by way of registering fears, comments, suggestions, recommendations and concerns ahead of the much anticipated June 24th elections.
Mr Lucien Momoh, the director of training and outreach at the PPRC explained that the code of conduct for political parties spanned the 2018 elections and has been revised and updated to meeting the challenges of the 2018 elections.
He said some of the regulations adopted by the PPRC are recommendations from election observers, whiles admitting to adopting some, he also noted that those that conflict with entrenched clauses of the 1991 constitution of Sierra Leone were not included as part as part of the new regulations.
Mr Momoh noted that the unique aspect of the DMPF is its decentralization feature because it is a body that would be established in every district across the country to monitor issues bordering on political parties.
Olushogu David, executive secretary of PPRC dilated on roles and responsibilities of the inaugurated DMPF foremost among he said is to monitor the conduct of political parties in tandem with the PPRC Act of 2022 and other laws connected therewith.
“It is impossible for the PPRC to be everywhere”, he admitted.
He said another role is to prevent conflict and to further raise early warning signals at district level by way of providing information at district level and develop policies, strategies that could mitigate conflict and provide resolution whenever it happens.
Mr David urged all and sundry to use the forum as a means of sharing electoral information.
In the end, political party representatives/executives urged PPRC to provide a level playing field for all political parties.