By Ralph Sesay
The President of the National Reformation Movement, a youthful wing and pressure group of the main opposition All People’s Congress party, Mr. Minkailu Koroma has criticized the draft of the party’s constitution.
He emphasized that the constitution lacks the ownership of the people as their views were not sought in the development of the draft.
Mr.Koroma criticized the consultation and multitier clause in the selection of members of parliament and other political candidates.
The NRM President applauded the drafters of the constitution for placing so much resources and time in the development of the draft and pointed out that the draft APC constitution has contradicted itself in that the aims and purposes of the said constitution are in tandem with the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone.
He cited that some clauses in the APC draft constitution which had called for other processes that are not democratic contradict the aims and objectives of the 1991 Constitution.
The NRM also called on the drafters to make clear the criteria for candidates to contest for the standard bearer of the APC party, citing that this clause had led to the proliferation of twenty-eight candidates to contest for the leadership in the past elections.
The draft constitution should be very clear as to who is qualified to run for the standard bearer position of the party from anywhere in the world.
Minkailu Koroma criticized the party for taking on different mediums to explain the draft constitution and disclosed that the NRM has constituted a committee to look at the draft constitution page by page with a view to make meaningful inputs into the draft constitution.
The NRM was created by vibrant youths in the APC party just after the March 2018 elections and the youths say they want total reformation of the party’s 1995 Constitution.
They have called on the party’s Constitutional Review Committee to remove the SELECTION clause in the constitution and replaced it with ELECTION.
There are mixed feelings in the APC with regards the formation of the NRM members of the current executive of the APC, especially as the Secretary General of the Party has dismissed the NRM as not a part and parcel of the party.
They have argued that the current executive has a mandate to govern the party.
Others are of the opinion that the APC should move towards liberal democracy and also conform to the dictates and intents of the country’s 1991 constitution.