By Alpha Abu
The Speaker of Sierra Leone’s Parliament, Dr. Abass Chernor Bundu says walk-outs and boycotts have lost their value and relevance in this 21st Century.
Dr. Bundu’s statement in Parliament on Monday 24th July 2023 was directed at the main opposition All People’s Congress (APC) whose Members of Parliament have boycotted sittings of the Sixth Parliament, since the announcement of the June General Elections, because of what the party alleged were irregularities in the polls.
The speaker drew attention to the fact that it was the third sitting and with the exception of Mohamed Bangura , all the other members of the opposition have not gone to parliament, and mentioned that part of the constitution which states that a parliamentarian must have to vacate their seat if they are absent for an aggregate of 30 days.
Dr. Bundu mentioned the bravery of some APC party members for seeking legal redress over the intra-party squabbles and solicited the intervention of eminent personalities within the party whom he said should “rise up and liberate their Party from the clutches of despotism and authoritarianism before it is dragged again to the precipice of destruction and extinction”.
He urged them to demonstrate patriotism and “not to sit idly by and allow the present stalemate in their party to persist”, citing devastating and detrimental consequences not just for their party but also Sierra Leone’s democracy.
“ I want today to appeal to all those eminent statesmen of the APC Party to rise up and liberate their Party from the clutches of despotism and authoritarianism before it is dragged again to the precipice of destruction and extinction’’, Dr. Bundu stated.
To the 53 APC members of parliament that have stayed away, the speaker said: “I appeal to all of them to see reason and to step up and in consonance with their sense of national duty to come and take their seats in this Chamber to which they have been rightly and properly elected to represent their people before it is too late”.
He challenged some key party figures saying they should “step up to their sense of national duty and not allow their Party to be hijacked again by a small band of greedy, selfish and self-seeking politicians whose era is already well past and spent’’.
Dr. Bundu heaped praises on APC parliamentarian, Mohamed Bangura who has refused to toe his party’s line, by attending parliament.
“I want to take this opportunity to specially acknowledge the presence in the Chamber of the Hon. Mohamed Bangura who has been well advised and directed to come and take his seat to represent the people who had voted for him. I thank the Hon. Mohamed Bangura for his wise decision, and I know this nation owes you a deep and abiding sense of gratitude for that singular patriotic action on your part’’, the speaker noted.
It’s yet to be seen if the APC MPs will comply with the speaker’s appeal that they attend parliamentary proceedings.
Copyright © 2023 Politico (26/07/23)
