A Short History of the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone: 1961 -2010
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A SHORT HISTORY OF THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION OF SIERRA LEONE: 1961 -2010 By Mohamed N. Conteh PREFACE (ABSTRACT) AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This monograph is an introduction to the history of Sierra Leone‟s Election Management Body (EMB), called the Electoral Commission (EC). It is written specifically to provide, inter-alia, general information on the history and electoral developments which took place within the EMB from 1961 to 2010. Much emphasis is laid on the process of transforming the EMB, from a poorly equipped and dependent body on the Executive arm of Government (i.e. Ministry of Internal Affairs, from 1961 to 2004, with little capacity to conduct credible democratic elections), into a credible independent and professional public institution by 2010. This work lays a strong foundation for a more advanced critical study of the institution established by the Constitution to register voters, organize and conduct elections for President, Members of Parliament (MPs), elected representatives of local councils and referenda. As it provides useful information on electoral developments in the country, including elections conducted from 1951 to 2008, the monograph is particularly useful to Election Administrators, NGOs, and researchers on electoral democracy and EMB‟s in Sierra Leone, political parties, politicians and the general reader. The names Electoral Commission (EC), National Electoral Commission (NEC), or the Commission are used interchangeably in this monograph. The Public Elections Act, 2012 became Law in May 2012, thus becoming the electoral legal framework of the electoral process. It repeals the Electoral Laws Act, 2002 and the NEC Act, 2002. The provisions referred to in the repealed legislation are contained in the new Public Elections Act, 2012. I owe a lot of gratitude to the Almighty God and all those accomplished writers and organisations whose works formed the basis of research in the i writing of this monograph. I am also grateful to the Board members and staff of the National Electoral Commission for their support and encouragement in the writing of this monograph. My final gratitude goes to my family (ie my wife, Agnes, and children: Fatima, Aisha and Hawa Conteh), my driver (Mark Sesay) and my Security (Abdulai Kargbo). The views expressed in this monograph (except otherwise stated) are solely mine. All comments or suggestions with a view to enhance this work are welcome and should be addressed to: Mohamed N‟fah-Alie Conteh Electoral Commissioner, National Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone OAU Drive, Tower Hill, Freetown Republic of Sierra Leone. Email: [email protected] Mobile: +232-76-638675 July 2012 ii The Author The author, Mohamed N‟fah-Alie Conteh, is an Election Administrator attached to the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone (NEC) since 1990. He is currently one of the 5 Electoral Commissioners, comprising the board of the Electoral Commission. Since he became a member of the Commission (first as a staff member from 1990-2009, and then as Electoral Commissioner, since 21st May 2009), he has been very instrumental in transforming both the body responsible for conducting national elections and the system of administering them, from one of the worst structures and managed systems during 1970‟s and 1980‟s to a model system in Africa by 2010. Mr Conteh‟s unpublished works include: “ “The National Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone: An Introduction to its history and operations” (2011), “The Institution of Paramount Chieftaincy in Sierra Leone: An introduction to its history and electoral process” (2011), and the Electoral Commission and the management of elections in Sierra Leone: A concise introduction (2012). He is a Sierra Leonean. iii Dedication This work is dedicated to the board of Commissioners and staff (both past and present) of the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone. Note The author is in search of democratic institutions, interested individuals or other elections related INGOs that are willing to sponsor the publication of this monograph; as a demonstration of their commitment to the promotion of democratic governance in Sierra Leone. All rights reserved. No part of this monograph may be reproduced, transmitted in any form or any means, electronic, photocopying or otherwise, without prior permission of the author. iv Acronyms AAEA - Association of African Election Authorities ADEO - Assistant District Electoral Officer AFRC - Armed Forces Revolutionary Council APC - All Peoples Congress BD - Boundary Delimitation BEAC- Basic Electoral Administration Course BRIDGE - Building Resources In Democracy, Governance and Elections CEC/Chair - Chief Electoral Commissioner and Chairperson DEO - District Electoral Officer DFID - Department for International Development (British) EC - Electoral Commission EC - European Commission ECONEC - ECOWAS Network of Electoral Commissions ECOWAS - Economic Community of West African States ELA, 2002 - Electoral Laws Act, 2002 EMB - Electoral Management Body EOC - Elections Offences Court ERSG - Executive Representative of the (UN) Secretary General EU - European Union GoSL - Government of Sierra Leone HRMO - Human Resource Management Office (formerly Establishment Secretary‟s office) I.e. - id est. -“that is” Ibid - Ibidem i.e. „in the same place‟/work as quoted above‟ IDEA - Institute for Democratic Electoral Assistance. IFES - International Foundation for Election Systems. INEACE - Institute of Electoral Administration and Civic Education. INEC - Interim National Electoral Commission INGO - International Non Governmental Organization v IT - Information Technology JICA - Japan International Cooperation Agency LGA, 2004 - Local Government Act, 2004 LPA - Lome Peace Agreement MDAs - Ministries, Departments and Agencies MIALGRD - Ministry of Internal Affairs, Local Government and Rural Development MoFED - Ministry of Finance and Economic Development MoU - Memorandum of Understanding NEC - National Electoral Commission NEC Act, 2002 - National Electoral Commission Act, 2002 NGO - Non Governmental Organization NPRC - National Provisional Ruling Council ONS - Office of National Security Op.cit - “Opere citato” – „‟in the work cited‟‟ (some where in this monograph) PC - Paramount Chieftaincy/Chief PEA-2012 Public Elections Act, 2012 PPRC - Political Parties Registration Commission RUF- Revolutionary United Front SLP - Sierra Leone Police SLPP - Sierra Leone Peoples Party SRSG - Special Representative of the (UN) Secretary General UMANSIL - United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone UN - United nations UNDP - United Nations Development Programme USAID - United States Aid VR - Voter Registration WANEP- West Africa Network for Peace building vi A Short History of the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone: 1961-2010:- by M.N. Conteh. CHAPTER 1 HISTORICAL CONTEXT Historical and political developments British Philanthropists founded the Sierra Leone colony on the Sierra Leone peninsula in 1787 as a “Province of Freedom”; or better still, a settlement for freed slaves from Britain, commonly called ―the Black Poor‖, and ex-service men of the British Crown in the American War of independence; and ―recaptured‖ slaves from slave traders along the Bay of Guinea. The first form of British administration in the Sierra Leone Colony (after the failure of the first settlement at Granville town, called Province of Freedom) was company rule by the Board of Directors of the “Sierra Leone Company”, which was founded in London in1791 to trade with the Sierra Leone Colony. The Board of Directors appointed a Governor with legislative powers and an advisory council to administer the Colony. The settlement was declared a Crown Colony in 1808 and its inhabitants were given the status of British subjects. Later in the years to come, British colonial administration increased its sphere of influence from the Colony to the hinterland (now called Provinces), which was declared a Protectorate in 1896. Both the Crown Colony and the Protectorate constitute what is called Sierra Leone today. Constitutional developments took place from 1863 until the country gained independence on 27th, April 1961 and a Republican status on 19th April, 1971. Sierra Leone was declared a one party state in 1978 under the All People‘s Congress (APC) party, following a referendum, which approved a one-party Constitution. Another referendum held in August 1991 approved a new Constitution, which became the 1991 multi-party Constitution. Sierra Leone‘s experience with western democracy (that is, electoral democracy and political party pluralism) goes back to 1951, with the formation of true political parties and the holding of the first general elections under the tutelage of 1 A Short History of the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone: 1961-2010:- by M.N. Conteh. the colonial power, Britain. General and Local Government elections have since been conducted from 1951 to 2008; some ―free and fair‖, while others were not (especially elections conducted during the period 1973–1986), to say the least. Sierra Leone‘s democratic experience had been intermittently halted by military coups as follows: 21st, March 1967 to 26th April 1968; National Provisional Ruling Council (NPRC) from 29th April 1992 to 29th March 1996; Armed Forces Revolutionary Council: 25th, May 1997 to 10th March 1998 Civil War: 1991 – 2002 Sierra Leone had a civil war from 23rd March 1991 to 18th January 2002, between the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) and successive governments. It began on the 23rd March 1991, when a group of armed persons of the RUF,