As Flagbearer Battle Looms… SLPP Cracks Deepened

As Sierra Leone’s political attention gradually shifts towards the 2028 general elections, the governing Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) is facing a growing internal contest over membership, leadership succession and the process for selecting its next flagbearer.
While the party continues to position itself as a political organisation capable of accommodating different interests, recent developments have exposed disagreements among senior officials, aspirants and supporters over who qualifies to participate in the succession race and how the next flagbearer should be chosen.
The internal tensions come at a time when President Julius Maada Bio, who is constitutionally unable to seek another term, has repeatedly called for unity, discipline and a transparent process for selecting his successor within the party. In April, during the SLPP’s 75th anniversary celebrations, President Bio warned against factionalism and said the next flagbearer should emerge through a democratic process.
However, events in recent weeks suggest that the road to that process may not be without serious disagreements.
One of the most visible disagreements emerged in August when SLPP National Chairman Jimmy Batilo Songa told constituency chairmen in Bo to await a directive from President Bio regarding the party’s next flagbearer.
Reports of those remarks generated debate within the party, with critics questioning whether the flagbearer should be identified through a directive from the party leader or through a competitive internal electoral process.
The controversy became more significant because the SLPP Secretary General reportedly rejected the interpretation that President Bio alone would determine the next flagbearer, describing such a position as a personal view rather than the President’s position.
The disagreement has placed renewed attention on the relationship between the party leadership and the various political interests already emerging ahead of 2028.
The most recent and highly publicised internal dispute involves Alhaji Musa Tarawally, who has presented himself as an SLPP member and aspirant for the party’s flagbearership.
On September 17, National Chairman Songa directed Tarawally to stop using the SLPP logo, presenting himself as a party member or holding himself out as a flagbearer aspirant.
The Chairman’s position followed correspondence from the Citizens Democratic Party (CDP), which, according to the SLPP, stated that Tarawally remains a member of the CDP.
Tarawally has rejected that position. He maintains that he resigned from the CDP in 2018 before returning to the SLPP and insists that he is a fully paid-up SLPP member and national delegate. He has also challenged the authority and procedure used by the SLPP leadership to question his membership.
The dispute has now moved beyond ordinary political exchanges, with the SLPP Public Relations Officer Moses Mambu saying the party has referred certain statements connected to the controversy to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID). The reported investigation and any possible further action remain matters for the relevant authorities.
Tarawally is not the only potential aspirant whose membership status has become a subject of public debate.
Former SLPP MP Abdul Muniru Lansana recently claimed that Dr. Kandeh Kolleh Yumkella has not been formally readmitted into the SLPP and therefore may not be eligible to contest the party’s flagbearership.
Lansana based his argument on Yumkella’s participation in the 2023 elections under the National Grand Coalition (NGC) and his subsequent public intention to return to the SLPP. The claim is that formal readmission remains necessary before eligibility can be established.
The membership question surrounding Yumkella has added another dimension to the wider debate about who will be allowed to participate when the SLPP eventually conducts its flagbearer selection.
With President Bio approaching the end of his constitutional tenure, the SLPP is preparing for a political transition that could determine whether it remains in government after 2028.
The party is therefore facing a delicate balancing act: maintaining unity while allowing internal competition among politicians who want to succeed President Bio.
On September 28, the Election Commissions Network of ECOWAS (ECONEC) held discussions with SLPP leaders on internal election rules, including eligibility, nominations, delegate registration, campaign rules, complaints and appeals. The discussions also touched on managing party disputes and strengthening internal democratic processes.
The development suggests that the internal electoral process is already becoming an important issue as the party looks towards 2028.
The central question for the SLPP may therefore not simply be who wants to lead the party, but whether competing interests can operate within agreed rules without turning political competition into prolonged internal confrontation.
President Bio has already urged the party to avoid factionalism and entitlement politics. The latest disputes over the flagbearer process and membership status now provide a practical test of that call.
As the opposition prepares for the next national contest, the SLPP is simultaneously facing its own internal battle. How the party handles these disputes, protects its internal procedures and manages competing ambitions could become an important part of the political story leading to 2028.