The main opposition party, the All People’s Congress (APC), has expressed strong opposition to the government’s proposed road map for implementing the eighty recommendations presented by the Tripartite Committee to President Julius Maada Bio in July 2024.

Speaking to journalists in Freetown on Tuesday, the National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Sidi Yayah Tunis, voiced concerns over the government’s approach, stating that it would not lead to the desired reforms.

Addressing reporters after a meeting with international peace facilitators, including ECOWAS, the Commonwealth, the African Union, and the United Nations, at the APC headquarters, Tunis criticized the government’s unilateral handling of the road map. He argued that the proposed implementation, which includes key electoral and institutional reforms, lacked proper involvement from the opposition.

“You cannot expect government institutions to implement these reforms effectively on their own,” Tunis stated. He emphasized that the APC has not been officially presented with the road map and criticized the Steering Committee’s proposals as flawed. The APC raised these issues with the international facilitators, urging for a more inclusive approach to ensure meaningful reforms.

The facilitators were at the APC headquarters to assess the progress of the Agreement for National Unity and the Tripartite Committee’s recommendations. Tunis noted that they inquired about the implementation status of the recommendations, questioning which have been fully implemented, which are in progress, and which have yet to start.

Lawyer Abdul Karim Kamara, a member of the APC’s Publicity Committee, further added that the government has failed to act on several key resolutions outlined in the Agreement for National Unity. These include the release of political detainees from the 2023 elections, the payment of salary backlogs to elected officials, and the discontinuation of politically motivated cases against the opposition.

The APC has signaled its intention to raise these concerns directly with the government in future discussions, as proposed by the international mediators.