Dr Sylvia Olayinka Blyden: Sierra Leone Telegraph: 04 June 2021:
No single political party in Sierra Leone has a majority in parlaiment. The current make up of the country’s parliament is as follows:
APC – 58 Members
SLPP – 58 Members
C4C – 8 Members
NGC – 4 Members
Independent – 3 Members
No political party has a majority as of yesterday, June 3rd 2021 when the National Electoral Commission declared that SLPP’s Hon. Member of Parliament representing Tonkolili Constituency 056, is now the newly elected Paramount Chief of Sambaia Chiefdom.
Sierra Leone’s CONSTITUTION very clearly states that there cannot be two Paramount Chiefs from the same District sitting in Parliament.
Section 74(1)(a) says only one Paramount Chief Member of Parliament (PCMP) per district. Tonkolili already has Hon. Bai Kurr as PCMP.
Furthermore, Section 77(1)(f) is sacrosanct. The moment an Ordinary Member of Parliament becomes a Paramount Chief, his seat as an MP is to be immediately vacated.
Hence, any attempt to allow Hon. Musa Jalloh of the SLPP to continue to sit in Parliament after June 3rd 2021 is unconstitutional.
