The Chairman of the Political Parties Regulation Commission (PPRC), Abdulai Masiyambay Bangurah has told the press that several parties might not take part in this year’s elections.

He revealed that most parties are not functional as per the PPRC Act of 2022.

Chairman Bangurah added that only three out of the 17 registered political parties are functional. He revealed that the functional political parties are the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), All People’s Congress (APC) and National Grand Coalition (NGC) are functional parties.

The PPRC Boss said most of the parties have failed to conduct their district and regional delegates’ conferences as required by the new law of the Commission. He stated that that is the principal reason for the blackballing of the 14 registered political parties.

Bangurah affirmed that the country’s Electoral Commission, ECSL has requested from them a list of parties that will contest the elections in June this year.

He sadly equated the situation to that of Nigeria which recently saw the vast majority of political parties sidelined because they failed to meet the required threshold.

Since 2002, the West African nation has been conducting successful democratic elections with multiple political parties on the ballot. The situation this year could see several parties on the sidelines for the first after several decades.