Supreme Court Dismisses Legal Action Initiated By Lawyer Against ECSL, Minister Of Justice

By: Thaimu Bai Sesay

The Supreme Court of Sierra Leone has on a press statement dated Wednesday 8^th November 2023 struck out the case filed by Sorie-Sengbe Marrah Esq against the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone, the Commissioner and Returning Officer and the Attorney General and Minister of Justice for non-compliance with the Supreme Court rules 1982.

“The Plaintiff  Augustine Sorie-Sengbe Marrah herein, not having complied with rule 90 (1) of the Supreme Court rules, public notice No. 1 of the 1982  in that his statement of case filed on the 23th October 2023 was filed out of time, and a certificate of non-compliance having been issued on the 2^nd November 2023 the originating notice of motion  S.C. NO. 05/2023 filed on the 11^th October 2023 by the plaintiff against the 1^st defendant the Electoral Commissioner for Serra Leone, the 2^nd defendant the Chief Electoral Commissioner and National Returning Officer and the 3^rd defendant Attorney –General and Minister of Justice is hereby deemed to have been struck out pursuant to rule 90 (3) of the aforementioned Supreme Court rules,” Supreme Court noted in the press statement.

Marrah contended that ECSL’s denial of access was not only unlawful but also unjust, constituting a violation of his rights to freedom of expression and access to information, as outlined in the country’s constitution and the Right to Access Information Act of 2013.

The lawyer emphasized that his legal action was not intended to challenge the election’s outcome but rather underscored the paramount importance of transparency, accountability, and adherence to the rule of law in the electoral process.” The dismissal is based on Marrah’s noncompliance with the Supreme Court Rules1982, specifically Rule 90 (1), as he filed his statement of case out of the stipulated time.

Lawyer Marrah had previously filed an application in October, seeking the construction, interpretation, and enforcement of section 25 of the constitution of Sierra Leone Act No. 6 of 1991 in alignment with section 2 of the Right to Access Information Act 2013.

The application aimed to secure access to unaggregated data results, particularly the Results Reconciliation Forms from all 11,712 polling stations that were the foundation of ECSL’s announcement during the last general elections.