In what is widely seen as an expression of late feelings, the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) is running away from the Tripartite Agreement in the eleventh hour.
The last-minute escape prompts the question of what have SLPP politicians seen coming from afar.
The Tripartite Agreement was entered by the SLPP and the opposition, All People’s Congress (APC) to end the post-election controversy that followed the June, 2023 polls. The controversy was taken to a high level after APC parliamentarians, mayors, chairmen and councillors boycotted parliament and councils across the country for three months, a move that nearly wrecked the country.
It became clear that the only way out of the political quagmire was to advance a mediation between the two parties to end the stalemate. The peace deal in which the two political parties participated was brokered by the international community resulting into a Communique of October, 2023 which contains several resolutions.
One of the resolutions required the formation of a Cross-Party Committee consisting SLPP, APC and Development Partners to look into the alleged electoral irregularities and proffer recommendations. The two political sides assured the international community and the people of Sierra Leone that they would stick to the agreement for peace and national cohesion, but SLPP scribe is today taking a different path.
In a media interview, the SLPP Secretary-General, Umar Paran Tarawally says his party is never in agreement with the Tripartite Committee. “It is a government-and-APC agreement and we SLPP has reservation. It does not mean that when SLPP signs a document all SLPP should be committed to it,” the SLPP scribe clarified.
He also added that it was the government which signed the agreement, but their party, SLPP had holds contrary position.
The scribe’s stance implies that SLPP will not respect the agreement at all cost and against all odds regardless of the consequence that may follow.
SLPP’s position comes after a week-long visit by the international moral guarantors to Sierra Leone to assess the implementation of the 80 recommendations proffered by the Tripartite Committee.
They came at a time the opposition party, APC had boycotted parliament following what they referred to as the controversial appointment of the Chief Electoral Commissioner, Edmond Alpha, and government’s unwillingness to implement the recommendations of the Tripartite Committee.
The opposition party argued that the appointment of the Chief Electoral Commissioner was illegal under the law as one of the provisions in the Constitution of Sierra Leone, 1991 was breached.
The provision requires government to consult leaders of all political parties ahead of the appointment, but the opposition said the consultation never took place, an act they saw as the beginning of another rigging spree reminiscent of the 2023 election.
The only weapon available to the opposition was a boycott at the early stage so that the mistake of the past is forestalled this time.
But, the moral guarantors advised APC law makers to return to parliament and set up a committee for the scrutiny and ratification of the Tripartite Agreement as provided for by section 40(h) of the Constitution of Sierra Leone, 1991.
The said provision states that “…Any agreement executed by or under the authority of the President shall be subject to the ratification by parliament either by an enactment of parliament or by a resolution supported by the votes of not less than one-half of the members of parliament.”
It is hoped that the agreement is binding only if it is ratified by parliament, and it concerns and touches on the transparency, credibility and fairness of future elections with 2028 polls being the litmus test.
The ratification of the agreement will be predicated on the formation of an inter-party committee in parliament which will consist of SLPP and APC parliamentarians charged with the responsibility of piloting the ANU.
As the process is being rolled out, the SLPP scribe has also made the party’s position clear on this point saying that “we will not agree with the committee as a party.”
SLPP’s fear in respect of the implementation lies in the fairness of all future elections in Sierra Leone which, according to political analysts, will make it difficult for SLPP to darken the walls of state power. This view was bolstered by the erstwhile SLPP Chairman, Dr. Prince Harding who said “SLPP has never won an election democratically.” This statement has been interpreted to mean that SLPP cannot win an election that is freely and fairly conducted.
Arguing further, the SLPP scribe relies on section 32(11) of the same constitution which provides for the independence of the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL), a body mandated by law to conduct and supervise all public elections in Sierra Leone.
It provides that: “In the exercise of any functions vested in it by this constitution, the Electoral Commission shall not be subject to the direction or control of any person or authority.” However, legally-minded men have argued that the clause does not mean the election body is not subject to checks and oversight.
Assessed by his argument, the SLPP scribe is in no mood to accept the Agreement for National Unity although it obliges government to implement the 80 recommendations for the sake of peace and national cohesion.
Paran Tarawally is not the first SLPP official to discredit and disrespect the Tripartite Agreement as it enters the phase of implementation.
Several officials of the party have, in recent times, referred the agreement as a “gentleman’s agreement” implying that it is not binding although the October Communique says all recommendations are “actionable” and “Implementable.”
The force of the two words above were recently re-echoed by the head of UNOWAS (United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel), Santos Simao when he stated that the implementation of the Tripartite Agreement is “non-negotiable.”
It means that nothing can block the implementation of the convergent and divergent recommendations as the document has landed on the desk of the Security Council, the highest organ of the United Nations. It was reported that the UN had ordered its implementation.
Confidence was strengthened among members of the international community and the people of Sierra Leone owing to the recent appointment of President Julius Maada Bio Chairman of the sub-regional bloc, ECOWAS (Economic Community Of West African.
ECOWAS is an inter-state institution that maintains peace and stability in West African countries where law, order and constitutional rule has collapsed. It performs this role through its military wing, ECOMOG (ECOWAS Monitoring Group), and its presence has been felt in Sierra Leone, Liberia and the Gambia where they have restored peace and constitutional order in dark moments.
The sub-regional is expected to do the same in Sierra Leone where undercurrents of a breakdown of law and order is reverberating almost daily.
Although, a peace deal has been brokered between the two political parties, APC and SLPP, signs of conflict are still visible as the latter says it will not accept the terms of the agreement.
SLPP’s seeming non-compliance with the recommendations take aback political analysts and the vast majority of Sierra Leoneans.
One of the analysts explained to this press that it was the ruling party that called for a dialogue amid the lingering political wrangling that immediately followed the announcement of the election results of the 2023 election.
The SLPP, the governing party, was ably represented by its top cream led by Chief Minister, Dr. David Moinina Sengeh while the opposition party was represented by the leader, Dr. Samura Kamara and others.
The document was signed by the two leaders and later endorsed and launched by the President giving it a legal status and binding force after ratification. It was after the signing of the document that top SLPP politicians, in a jubilant mood, took to the press, radio and tv stations saying the stalemate had been laid to rest.
They assur the people of Sierra Leone that they would respect the agreement to the fullest, but the sudden twist has raised large eyebrows among the international community and Sierra Leonean public.