By: Mohamed M. Sesay
Chairman of the Interim Transition Governance Committee (ITGC) of the All People’s Congress Party (APC) Alfred Peter Conteh, has expressed dismay over what he described as illegal conduct of the National Delegate Conference by the party over the weekend in Makeni.
He assured of taking another fresh court action against the party after he would have sought clarity for the Political Parties Registration Commission (PPRC).
Alfred Peter Conteh categorically stated that the event in Makeni was illegally added that, he had not received a document from the Sierra Leone High Court justifying that the ruling of Justice Fisher had been receded. As far as he may concern, Alfred Peter Conteh emphasized that the ruling from Justice Fisher still stands. He said the IGTC of which he is the chairman, is in charge of the All People’s Congress Party (APC) until after a legally conducted National Delegate Conference of the Party.
Alfred Peter Conteh intimated that the job of the Transition Interim Independent Elections Management Committee ( TIIEMC) was to conduct elections. He said in the Court Orders dated the 28th of April 2022, and on the 23rd of November 2022, in both rulings, the judge clearly stated a deadline for the conduct of the Lower Level Elections.
He added that the mandate of the TIIEMC expired immediately after the conduct of the Lower Level Elections on the aforementioned dates.
According to the ruling, he said the mandate of the TIIEMC expired immediately after they had conducted the Lower Level Elections.
He said the judge even spelt it out that after they have concluded the Lower Level Elections, that would have marked the end of their mandate. He called on the attention of the international community to know that the TIIEMC had just been making a similar attempt to get him out of the way to do dubious things like the one they had done already.
“So they made two attempts to get me out of the way so that I don’t Chair the convention. We fought for democracy especially Participatory Democracy of which I expect the APC to do things in a civilized way”, he said.
The Chairman of the ITGC said APC could not use urgency to do things illegally and disenfranchise certain people. He said ITGC fought for democracy adding that, they did not fight for what he described as a coronation process which was exactly what the APC had done in Makeni. He reiterated that the APC purposely went to coronate officers.
He refuted that the event in Makeni was never a National Delegate Conference.
Alfred Peter Conteh assured the nation that he would take the APC to court for the illegal conduct of the National Delegate Conference held in Makeni over the weekend. He said it was the more reason he had written the PPRC for adequate clarification that would inform further action. He concluded by stating that the TIIEMC mandate expired on Friday the 17th of February 2023. He said it was the business of the TIIEMCE to have gone to court for the court to reconstitute their mandate or otherwise.