Boycotting Parliament After Being Elected as an MP, What Are The Ramifications?

One of the Maxims of Equity states: “Equity aids the vigilant, not the indolent” (If you decide to sleep on your right, you’ll have yourself to blame).

After being elected to parliament, it is incumbent on every MP-elect to subscribe to the Oath of Office before taking his/her seat in Parliament, as entrenched in Section 83 of the Constitution of Sierra Leone 1991 (Act No 6 of 1991). This Oath of Member of Parliament as stated in the Third Schedule unequivocally mandated Members of Parliament to pledge their allegiance to the Republic of Sierra Leone (not to a Political Party).

There are certain circumstances in which a Member of Parliament shall vacate his seat in Parliament as enshrined in Section 77(a)-(n) of the Constitution of Sierra Leone 1991 (Act No 6 of 1991).

Will the smooth functioning of Parliament be affected because of a boycott by a political party?

The Standing Orders of the Sierra Leone Parliament in no uncertain terms made it clear that the quorum for the House is one-fourth (1/4) of the total number of Parliamentarians.

SLPP……………… 81
APC………………..54
PCMP………………14
………
Total 149
…………

So, (1/4) X 149 = 37.25

This clearly indicates that the (SLPP MPs & PCMP) combined, far outnumbered the required quorum.

Hence, any decisions taken in the House after their Oath & Induction on the 12th & 13th July respectively is legitimate!

So, what happens to any MP-elect who fails to take the Oath of Office?

The Standing Orders of the Sierra Leone Parliament also states: “Any member who without good cause during any session is absent from the sitting of Parliament on a number of days amounting to any aggregate period, or thirty (30) days, shall vacate his seat.”

“Good cause” being defined as a reasonable excuse which must be corroborated with any evidence adduced.

N/B: But for an MP to even qualify for that “good cause” s/he must have subscribed to the Oath of Office.

But where there’s an outright refusal to subscribe to the Oath of Office, it is presumed after thirty days that an MP-elect is unwilling to serve the people of the country that elected him to parliament (this amounts to an unreasonable excuse), thus resulting into him losing his seat.

Comment(s)

Disclaimer: Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Sierraloaded or any employee thereof.

Bernard John Simbo. | 2023-07-10 21:52:05

The deed has been done, the people of Salone have spoken. It is prudent for the opposition to put the nation first and emberace peaceful co existence.
| 2023-07-09 21:03:22

This government is not democratic, meaning the Constitution is not useful you go ahead with your dictatorship government
| 2023-07-09 21:00:54

This
| 2023-07-09 15:48:45

If fellow Sierra Leones can read and understand the bible and the holy Quran, then they can't imagine of tolerating tribalism and nepotism to separate us from each other.
| 2023-07-09 15:15:20

A P C members of parliament are not serious, if they are serious their right is to work with the S L P P government and challenge issues responsible.
| 2023-07-09 14:14:28

If we want to scare from the truth let us do so and leave the constitution out of this
Dulkay | 2023-07-09 13:15:15

No matter what the constitution says the APC will not subscribe to oath of office until the right thing is done. Take everything and administer the country, you have tampered the constitution which is well known by the people of Sierra Leone to coerce people to dance to your tunes. My expectations was that as a military leader of S/L, you should unite and work in the interest of all Sierra Leoneans but you watered-down my expectations. Unite and Work diligently and leave the rest of mankind to decide your faith through the ballot my brother, we have conscience that was the same thing Ernest did to the people of Sierra Leone indeed they voted him for another term.
Alhaji Bah | 2023-07-09 13:13:58

Working in an SLPP dominated Parliament as an MP makes no sense for the APC. After the 2018 elections, APC had majority in Parliament. With SLPP having the presidency, they stole the Speakership, kicked out 10 APC Parliamentarians, passed all bills they wanted to pass without parliamentary approval, had to beat and imprison any MP they want.That was the kind of Parliament we had for the past 5 years. Those that are quoting the Constitution should ask themselves what is the essence of working with a dictatorship? The best APC can do is to stay away from all positions their politicians won: Parliament and Council.
Ebrahim Sorie Dawo | 2023-07-09 12:23:26

What is the differences between two third and one fourth that forms a quorum in parliament? Please help me with the formula for both.
Saio marrah | 2023-07-09 12:08:30

SLPP want to implement one Party state in Sierra Leone, but let them remember that what goes round comes around.
Abill kanu | 2023-07-09 11:21:56

For sure, but 149 minus 54 can not form any quorum, especially when there are no opposition MPs. Therefore, it's incumbent on us all to call it a spade a spade...
| 2023-07-09 10:52:33

Nonsense interpretation of the constitution. This is a constitutional crisis. You interpretation is literal and out of context
Basiru Kamara | 2023-07-09 10:25:03

let put our country first so that we can build a better Salone, the issue of subduing to a political party instead of the country will make our country undeveloped. Salone fos.
Bangs Alusine Salih | 2023-07-09 10:12:54

God Almighty is watching Sierra Leone. APC don finished
| 2023-07-09 10:11:24

We're closely observing the opposition for this their selfish decision to boycott the parliament.