The 1991 Sierra Leone Constitution, exclusively Article seventy seven (1K) has largely removed the observe of cross carpeting among the elected associates in parliament. By stipulating that “a member of parliament shall vacate his seat in parliament if he ceases to be a member of the political occasion of which he was a member at time of his election to parliament, and he so informs the Speaker or the Speaker is so informed by the chief of that political party”, the framers of the 1991 Constitution tackled the opportunistic motivations of elected politicians who seek to switch parties after elections and so have strengthened our fragile political occasion method.
The phenomenon of switching political parties pursuing policy disagreements or as a consequence of tribal and regional sentiments and or due to character conflicts within just political parties, although not a Sierra Leone protect, is a observe that has very long currently being perfected in present day Sierra Leone politics.
Considering the fact that the memorable Brewah, Kai-Samba and F.S Anthony 1967 defections from the SLPP, followed by the defection from the opposition SLPP to the ruling APC by F. M Minah in 1974 and the wholesale cross- carpeting of the SLPP together with its leaders, M.S Mustapha and Salia Jusu-Sheriff in the aftermath of the APC declaration of the 1978 1-occasion constitution politicians have only been much too eager to show their self centeredness and deficiency of political ideas at the price of their constituents.
The cross carpeting of J.B Dauda and Dr. Abass Bundu from the APC to the SLPP, in the 1990’s signifies an instance of the improve in the other path.
Cross carpeting by non-elected politicians:
On the other hand, cross carpeting by non-elected politicians, not tackled in the 1991 Constitution, carries on to pose a really serious menace to the balance of the multi-occasion method in Sierra Leone. The most new spate of PMDC and SLPP politicians cross carpeting to the ruling APC so signifies a continuation of this self-curiosity centered political fraud and unprogressive observe, which at the moment poses the biggest menace to the teetering multi-occasion agent democracy in the place.
As determined in the TRC Report, Sierra Leone “politicians have generally most well-liked unique small-term survival in excess of seem ideology, doctrines of principle or very good governance. Thus in 1978, the SLPP members abdicated their responsibilities to problem undesirable governance, their important focus in its place switching to signifies of reaping the loot of co-option” (TRC Report Vol. 3A Para sixty nine).
For as a country recovering from the effects of the civil war, characterised by the failure of very good governance, our failure to reassess and evaluate the very long- term repercussions of a method in which politicians purely for individual greed and self-aggrandizement are allowed to subvert our governance and democratic institutions can no for a longer period be tolerated.
A crucial mass of people today, both of those internally alongside one another with the nation’s global partners want to be designed conscious that Sierra Leone politicians can not be counted on to continue creating and securing the country’s democratic surroundings, with the observe of bribes, positions and presents of point out resources to lure cross-carpeting politicians. The self-curiosity and greed is so overpowering in the deal with of the abject poverty in the place, which has generally served as the motivating inducing variable. For as very long as cross-carpeting politicians continue to reward from political favors, items and positions in governing administration, it stands to motive that such a governance method will only be a façade that will engender resentment such as along strains previous the period of time civil war.
Are the political elites capable of improve?
The Sierra Leone political elites still left to their possess products depict not only a corrupting affect on governance but collectively epitomize the single most strong menace to the nation’s fledgling agent democracy. Their penchant for changing political parties, recognized in community parlance as “cross-carpeting” is so pervasive and primarily devoid of any constituent or national policy driven agenda, that unless stakeholders of a truly democratic dispensation in the place seek to curtail this observe, Sierra Leone will be destined for an additional calamity.
The cross carpeting syndrome, a symptom of the malaise in our agent democratic method, evidenced by the personal bankruptcy of political beliefs, policies and beliefs is again currently being manifested as politicians of opposition parties are angling to be part of the ruling APC governing administration purely for self-aggrandizement and greed.
THE APC occasion record:
The APC occasion is wont to point out that the idea of a 1 occasion point out in Sierra Leone was in the beginning sophisticated by the Albert Margai SLPP. This assertion is in truth correct, even so what is incontrovertible is that the APC occasion of Siaka Stevens promulgated and brutally carried out the 1978 1-occasion constitution. The Siaka Stevens regime’s institutionalization of the 1-occasion concept succeeded in stifling and suppressing all non-violent avenues for opposition in the place subsequently major to the debilitating and brutal civil war. A perusal of the TRC report and specifically the submission of the APC occasion to the TRC underline the party’s continued obsession with wielding unbridled electrical power and as such can not be dependable to uphold the multi-occasion character of the present-day political surroundings.
The party’s justification as mentioned in its submission to the TRC by President Koroma states inter alia that ” due to the fact the APC was returned to electrical power after the SLPP-led military services interregnum in 1968, the ever-present menace to remove the occasion from business office by pressure of arms forced successive APC governments into a self defence and point out defence posture. In the process, internal stability and balance assumed a very distinguished put on the governing administration agenda, so slowing down the complete effects of our improvement strategies”
The party’s preoccupation with preserving alone in perpetual electrical power and its failure to take responsibility for the excesses of the Siaka Stevens period and its justification for the gross pervasion of the nation’s democratic processes and institutions, as articulated in the TRC report, must call for improved vigilance by opposition political parties, civil society institutions and the global local community to forestall a repeat of the negative facets of governance in the Siaka Stevens period, as epitomized by the 1-occasion 1978 constitution.
When the complete globe was currently being hoodwinked with the proposition that the civil war in Sierra Leone was as a consequence of diamonds, it was evident to those who lived by both of those the Siaka Stevens and Momoh eras that the place was in truth ripe for a revolution and was heading for a violent conflagration. With due regard to the glamorized western idea that the civil war was about blood diamonds, it ought to be pointed out that the disenfranchisement and stifling of political affiliation, the 1-occasion Siaka Stevens administration enforced, was 1 of the important catalyst that fueled the conflict. So much has even so due to the fact adjusted but still issues continue to be the exact same and how shortly our political elite neglect the repercussions of their actions and inactions that resulted in this catastrophe?
Limits on non-elected political occasion switching:
There are those who would argue that it is liberty of political preference, a primary tenet of a participatory democracy, which offers for these politicians to exercising their liberty to associate with any occasion of their preference in a democracy. This is in truth correct even so freedoms are not limitless or without the need of boundaries and our participatory democracy ought to be intended to function as a signifies of boosting the capacities of governance institutions and not just for the opportunistic machinations of the political elites.
The counter argument currently being postulated right here is that acceptable and prudent limitations, checks and balances intended if not to thoroughly remove the observe but to eradicate the incentives and political benefits these switch coat politicians crave, ought to be instituted in the electoral rules. For even though in designed democracies the ideal exists, the fragile and teetering nature of our democracy and our politicians ever so convenient straddling amongst membership in various political parties ought to be examined and cautioned and corrective measures instituted.
One such corrective evaluate entails promulgation of rules and or rules empowering the Electoral Fee and or the Political Functions Registration Fee to ensure that in the function of such cross carpeting by non-elected politicians, such politicians must be precluded from availing themselves of any point out appointments, political or pecuniary gains from their new parties right until after the upcoming elections. This way the gaming of the method that is at the moment unfolding in the political method will be forestalled. The temptation to defect in return for appointments in other parties will be minimized.
For just as Parliamentarians are precluded from changing political parties after their elections, there is no rational motive why this preclusion can not be prolonged to other non-elected political functionaries.
Secondly, the preservation of a multi-occasion democracy is of a better and paramount significance than an unique politician’s wish to associate with a ruling occasion. The Sierra Leone political establishment ought to be designed to know that political pluralism is a elementary benchmark of a correct democracy’s institutions and values and any endeavours by ruling parties to dilute their cohesion dangers undermining the cloth and integrity of the democratic area.
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