Oral arguments were concluded in a case brought by Joseph Fitzgerald Kamara and Partners before the Supreme Court of Sierra Leone on January 9, 2023, on behalf of Councillor Hakiratu Maxwell-Caulker, the Second Plaintiff, and Honourable Abdul Kargbo, the First Plaintiff, against the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, the First Defendant, and the Electoral Commission, the Second Defendant.

It should be mentioned that opposition All People’s Congress (APC) members contested whether the Proportional Representation System could be used in the 2023 elections legally.

In their submission on behalf of the Plaintiffs, Dr. Abdulai O. Conteh and Joseph F. Kamara Esq. contended that the President’s order to the Electoral Commission to employ the PR system for the 2023 elections is invalid because there were already existent constituencies at the time the order was granted.

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They continued by pointing out that the Commission had not offered a convincing or convincing justification for using the PR method “even though constituencies still exist in the country.”

In response, the State asserted that the President acted within the scope of his constitutionally granted authority and that the validity of the President’s authority to issue such directives cannot be challenged in court. The State was represented by Solicitor-General R.B. Kowa and Principal State Counsel Osman Kanu.

Speaking on behalf of the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (the 2nd Defendant), Dr. Emmanuel Saffa Abdulai stressed that the ECSL is the only organization with exclusive knowledge and the expertise to determine whether it was possible to delineate boundaries 6 months prior to the date set for the 2023 elections. He further argued that the Commission acted legally when it advised that it was impracticable to delineate boundaries.

A ruling will be issued soon, the Chief Justice, who presided over the proceedings, promised.

The five-member Supreme Court justice panel that heard the complaint brought forth by two Sierra Leoneans against the use of the proportional representation system in the multi-tier elections scheduled for June 24, 2023 was praised by one of the country’s largest rights-based organizations, the Centre for Accountability and Rule of Law – Sierra Leone (CARL-SL).

Ibrahim Tommy, Executive Director, Centre for Accountability and Rule of Law, said, “When we urge citizens to use peaceful and legal means to resolve electoral grievances, we do so with an expectation that State organs and institutions would resolve such grievances in a timely, professional, and impartial manner. It is encouraging that the Supreme Court will begin hearing this matter barely a month after it was filed. This is an encouraging development in our group’s effort for the swift settlement of electoral complaints.

He encouraged the Court to render a just and well-reasoned judgement by carefully weighing the merits of the arguments on both sides.

CARL appointed observers to keep an eye on things.