The role of Political Parties in the Constitutional Review Process in Sierra Leone Presenter: Dr. Ahmed Ramadan Dumbuya

The role of political parties “ Political parties may be established to participate in shaping the political will of the people, to disseminate information on political ideas, and social and economic programmes of a national character, and to sponsor candidates for Presidential, Parliament or Local Government elections”. (Section 35 (1) Constitution of Sierra Leone Act No. 6 of 1991)

Constitutions In modern times, this term has come to symbolize the complex web of the authority of those in power and the limitations on the exercise of that power, the rights and obligations of those they govern, the manner in which the state itself is governed and the main objects of the government. The essential features of constitutions is that: The authority of government is derived from and is limited by a body of fundamental law; The right to exercise political power and how that power is exercised is LIMITED. These limitations are clearly spelled out in a body of a higher law which can be enforced through political and judicial means, e.g. periodic elections and challenges to the actions of state authorities.

The Constitutional Imperative In advancing reasons for the high incidence of instability and conflict on the African continent, there is near unanimous conclusion that this parlous state of affairs is not unique to the African continent but its prevalence has been generated by the absence of a set of agreed rules for the interaction of citizens and the exercise of power by those in authority.

Conflict and instability Most of the causes for conflict, instability, underdevelopment and under representation all flow from the absence of a set of agreed rules for the interaction of citizens and the exercise of power by those in authority. So the primary role and responsibility of political parties is in the area of facilitating the development of constitutionally guaranteed modalities for the acquisition, maintenance, exercise, sharing and transfer of political power peacefully and legitimately.

The Sierra Leone Context The 1991 constitution was designed to be resistant to authoritarian and one-party dictatorship and the entrenchment of a multi- party system of government with all the necessary guarantees. The constitution has stood the test of time through the era of the rebel war, the military interregnum to the present.

Successes Peaceful change of Government and conduct of free and fair Presidential, Parliamentary, Local Government and Paramount Chieftaincy elections regularly; Our decentralized local government system has been gradually bringing back the government closer to the people and improving the delivery of services to our local people; A more effective justice system is being built to ensure the rule of law and respect for Human Rights through judicial reforms, the work of the Law Reform Commission and the Human Rights Commission; A much strengthened National Electoral Commission has demonstrated a strong capacity to conduct free, fair and transparent elections; The Civil Society Movement has been considerably strengthened through support from the local and international community and is now beginning to express the wishes of the people to a greater degree. The press enjoys reasonable freedom in spite of its sometimes aggressive intrusions and shortcomings in the quality of reporting; There are no political prisoners or people behind bars for the expression of their ideas.

Levels of tolerance Sierra Leone is also relatively peaceful and tolerant spared of the frequent ethnic, religious and other conflicts that characterize life in many other parts of the world particularly in Africa. The high number of inter-ethnic and inter-religious marriages and the absence of serious disagreements along ethnic or religious lines reinforce this view.

Political intolerance With regard to elections however, there has hardly been any election in post- colonial Sierra Leone that has not been fraught with heightened tension or violence pervading all three phases of the electoral process – the pre-election period, the polling day and the post-election phase and even in between elections.

Political Parties and the Constitutional Review Process Political parties must lead in putting in place appropriate constitutional provisions for properly managing issues that have the potential for unraveling all the gains that we have been able to make so far as well as the protection, sustenance and preservation of our democratic way of life.

Suggested Areas for Review Protection of the constitution and stipulating sanctions against its abuse by those in authority; Guarantees against any possible drift back to a one-party state; Limiting the discretionary powers of the executive; Managing ethnic diversity of the state and introducing measures for promoting national cohesion and inclusive politics; Provisions to curb political, ethnic and regional polarization; Redressing the marginalization of women, youth and other under represented groups; Curbing violence at elections and Refining and modernizing concept of citizenship.

Recommendations “One Stone many Birds”-Proportional Representation Electoral System. One Constitutional change that is most likely to respond to the cluster of challenges involving the promotion of national cohesion, reducing electoral violence, improving the representation of women and other under-represented stakeholders in our community and curbing the “winner-takes-all” mentality is the proportional representation electoral system.