By Ragan M. Conteh
Even though Members of Parliament especially the first termers will now take home $50,000 at the end of any term in office as pension, many who lost their lower level elections in their constituencies have tote their hands on their heads profusely crying foul.
Many were re-elected by their constituents to come to Parliament for the second term, with others re-elected for their third terms as MPs.
Majority of MPs from both sides of the aisle were rejected by their people. MPs that were voted out by their people were even refused to witness the dissolution of Parliament last Tuesday.
Others are now perambulating helter-skelter to their political offices hoping to feature their names on the list of those who will become MPs in the 6th Parliament.
Most of those voted out by their constituents, according to sources, had failed to perform their functions in Parliament. Others were known to be “knocking benchers” in the Chambers of Parliament, while others were there for their personal aggrandizement.
Constituents say some MPs are not in the good books or graces of their political leaders, therefore were voted out while others are yet still considered sell-out MPs.
One Rugiatu Mansaray said the people had spoken and those MPs who lost their symbols at constituency level will serve as deterrent to nonperforming MPs.
Therefore, MPs in the coming 6th Parliament should learn from their colleagues’ mistakes as people voted for these set of MPs because they believed in them and wanted their representatives to represent them well in Parliament.
Others who may take advantage of the Proportional Representation (PR) system of election will be deceived when time comes for fighting for other symbols.
‘The day for sugar coated tongues is over, the people want responsible representation, MPs who work for the development of their constituencies,’ one Mommy Kanu said.
Ms Kanu explained that many MPs abandoned their constituencies after being elected, adding that most of them will now relocate to other communities forgetting that people voted for them. She advised the new set of MPs to be careful and work tirelessly for their constituents.
Some MPs argued that ‘MPs are not elected to take development projects to their constituencies’, adding that their roles and responsibilities as MPs are to make laws, perform oversight functions, and provide representation for the people in government.