Sierra Leone’s second Prime Minister, Sir Albert Margai lost the 1967 elections, but refused to hand over power to the winner, Siaka Probyn Stevens resulting into a deep-rooted security and political crisis.
Albert Margai forcefully took over power following the death of his elder brother, Sir Milton Margai, Sierra Leone’s first Prime Minister. The lure and aura of power made him stay in the office even when it became clear that he did not win the elections.
He was however forced to give up power by the recommendations of the Dove Edwin Commissions of inquiry which looked into the elections.
It was a politically turbulent situation with dire consequences for SLPP (Sierra Leone People’s Party) the country’s second oldest political party.
At the peak of the 1967 election crisis, a martial law was declared by the army chief, David Lansana, and Governor-General, Sir Henry Lightfoot Boston placed under house arrest.
President-elect, Siaka Stevens chased out of the country while Albert Margai tightened his hold on power.
After a year of coups and counter-coups, Siaka Stevens was installed as third Prime Minister of Sierra Leone, and reigned for close to two decades before he passed on the baton of leadership, in 1985, to his successor, Joseph Saidu Momoh.
Lansana and others were roped in for treason while Margai was abandoned to his own fate.
Subsequent military interregnums in Sierra Leone’s body politic became a way of life for the army, but the aftermath marked a horror story for the SLPP which languished in the political wilderness for close to three decades not until the April, 1992 coup brought the party to power.
SLPP also won an election stage-managed by the defunct National Provisional Ruling Council which was subsequently led by the current President Bio. An Easterner of Northern descent, Ahmad Tejan Kabba was made President and ruled for two terms from 1996 to 2007.
Kabba did a lot, but one of his greatest weaknesses was the failure to pose questions about what made SLPP stayed for decades outside State House. Such question would have served as a turning point or an experiential learning cycle for SLPP politicians if it is taken seriously.
Could it be the people’s fear about SLPP’s lack of democracy that keeps the party too long out of power? Was It APC’s leadership style? Is it SLPP’s contempt for the West, the Krio and North-Westerners while at any time they come to power? Is it revenge by the West particularly Britain whose honoured son, the Governor-General was put in chains by the SLPP? Is it SLPP’s elitism? Is it because SLPP goes in for wrong presidential candidates?
The thought-provoking questions would have led to a complete overhaul of SLPP or strong internal reforms so that it can match with the times.
50 years on, the political situation of 1967 was also staged by the PAOPA regime in June 27, 2023 when the incumbent, Julius Maada Bio was declared winner of the elections in spite of strong and endless criticisms by local and international election observation missions as well as the international community.
Majority of Sierra Leoneans too found it difficult to believe that Bio won the elections as the indicators were quite visible.
Out of disappointment and frustration, the people in the South-East regions, strongholds of the ruling party, failed to register saying they would not vote for SLPP, a party they said had failed them.
For quite a long time, SLPP has been one of the most cherished political entities in the South-East regions but kidding with the people’s welfare is largely unacceptable, and such resistance crystalised in the voter registration period.
It was however a different case for the North-West regions, strongholds of the main opposition, All People’s Congress where the people registered in large numbers.
Figures released by the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL) indicated that 1, 946, 515 residents were registered in the North-West regions while 1, 312,947 South-Easterners showed up at registration centres, a danger sign for the ruling party.
South-Easterners also took part in most of the demonstrations called by bloggers especially sits-at-home just to depopularise the Bio regime which they see as weak and inept.
The fury and grumbling voiced out in a widely circulated audio by one of the electoral commissioners, Edmond Alpha about a regime change proposed by the international community is also another sign that the election was a not a win for SLPP.
In spite of the glittering realities about the elections, President Bio did not give up as he fought to the last with a renewed force so that the palm tree is not let down.
He still holds the forte with the use of new tactics every passing day as seen in frequent proclamation of states of emergencies, widespread coup allegations followed by indiscriminate arrest and detention of opposition politicians, use of terror tactics and a regulation in detail all aspects of citizens’ lives.
Despite tough and robust stance taken by President Bio to tighten PAOPA’s grip on power, the international community is going after them peacefully and diplomatically to ensure that the election results are looked into to ascertain who the actual winner was.
The international community got President Bio to the table under pretence that his government would be recognised, accepted and funded full time as usual.
With such impression, Bio through his Chief Minister, David Moinina Sengeh took part in the three-day dialogue mediated by the Commonwealth, African Union and the sub-regional bloc, ECOWAS. A communiqué which resulted into the formation of a Tripartite Committee was signed by the two opposing sides, SLPP and the APC.
According to Resolution 3 of the communiqué, the Tripartite Committee is charged with the responsibility of investigating procedures and processes undertaken by the ECSL in the conduct of the June elections, and its mandate should not go beyond six months. The committee is expected to fold up in June, this year if all things remain equal.
Although much of the work is not made public, credible sources say it is going on and will be completed within the stipulated time.
A popular view holds that the recommendations will favour APC, the party which, many said, won the election. A victory for APC after the election probe means a loss for SLPP which will take an exit from the political stage for the actual winner. However, many Sierra Leoneans now imagine what will be the other subsequent recommendations that will hunt SLPP as it is hunted decades ago.
Veteran politicians who anonymously spoke to this press indicated that no African leader humiliates the West and goes away with it; consequences must follow.
One of those consequences could be that SLPP languishes again in the wilderness for several years before it bounces back to power again. By its nature, SLPP’s policies and style of leadership no longer syncs well the electorate with many choosing to go the APC way.
It is also clear that South-Easterners population is shrinking as many lost a good number of their people during the war with most participating in the pro-government militia known as the Kamajor.
The war was also prolonged in the South-East regions for years taking the lives of thousands of South-Easterners.
Consequently, many believe that SLPP would win election only out of the need of a regime change called by the people and supported by the international community as it was the case in 2018.
In the last days of the Ernest Bai Koroma regime, majority of the people of Sierra Leone called for a transfer of power as hunger and starvation was widespread in the country compounded by the Ebola effect. The call was loud and clear and there was no way the international community could ignore it. That was how the SLPP weathered the political storm of 2018, but the bad blood between the party and the international community could lead to a new chapter which no one could predict.
It could be that how the Dove Edwin Commission of Inquiry removed and delayed SLPP for too long out of State House could be the same way the Tripartite Committee could treat SLPP for the second time.