Sierra Leone opposition SLPP putting its house in order?

Sierra Leone Telegraph: 28 August 2016

The National Executive Council (NEC) of Sierra Leone’s opposition SLPP, met yesterday to discuss the progress it is making in meeting the milestones it had set few months ago, based on the advice and ruling received from the country’s Political Parties Registration Commission (PPRC) and the Supreme Court.

Since losing the 2012 presidential and general elections to the incumbent ruling APC, the SLPP party has remained deeply divided.

Following a series of poor judgement and irrational administrative decisions, many rank and file members have accused a section of the party’s NEC of autocracy and dictatorship.

As the party continues to struggle to find its feet in an ever increasingly turbulent and rancorously charged political atmosphere, there is strong concern it will remain divided, disorganised and too weak to fight the incumbent APC at the 2018 general elections.

With the party’s national office in the capital Freetown, perceived by many to be under siege by a faction determined to install the former military leader – Julius Maada Bio as the party’s presidential candidate, confidence and trust are in short supply.

But as the National Executive Council (NEC) members struggle to maintain order and discipline, their legitimacy and authority are also being questioned.

After recently conducting what has been described as highly flawed local level elections – the results of many of which the PPRC have found to be problematic, the last few weeks have been quite challenging for the NEC, as it is forced to carry out a re-run of those contested results.

As the party continues to de dogged by administrative foibles, time is fast running out for the NEC. The timetable set several weeks ago for the party national convention and the election of the party’s presidential candidate has slipped significantly.

The NEC has gone back to the drawing board.

So yesterday, Saturday, 27 August 2016, NEC officers met to review progress. Although there are rumours suggesting that the meeting was not properly quorate, the NEC agreed a series of resolutions as a road map for 2018, including, extending its hold on power to the 31st of October 2016, when new executive officers and the presidential candidate are expected to be elected.

This is what they agreed: