Sierra Leone bans political street rallies for June multi-tier elections

Sierra Leone’s Political Parties Regulation Commission (PPRC), in a press release issued on April 3, 2023, imposed a ban on political street rallies for this year’s June multi-tier elections. 

According to the press release, PPRC claims that the sanction on political street rallies came as a result of the threat to public safety, public peace, and public morality and infringed on the fundamental rights of others – especially their right to life over the years. 

The Commission further claims that politicians have in the past years, effectively used street rallies to influence the minds of the electorates – especially young men and women – by giving them intoxicants at the time of the circuses. Consequently, it has adopted this measure to “defuse them”.

However, the Commission, states that the ban on political street rallies in the upcoming election came about after it convened a meeting with registered political parties, electoral management bodies, security sector actors, civil society organizations, the press and development partners on Monday, March 17, 2023, to evaluate the essence of political street rallies and to discuss the requirements political parties are to meet to enable them to effectively execute the third limb of the purpose for their establishment as envisioned in section 35(1) of the 1991 constitution. Campaigns will be conducted in designated areas with proper security coverage.

Many Sierra Leoneans have welcomed the news, expressing great concern about how this sanction will ease the level of lawlessness that used to happen in the past. Meanwhile, senior lawyer and activist, Augustine Sorie-Sengbe Marrah, in a Twitter post, condemned the ban by PPRC, saying it’s illegal, unlawful and unconstitutional.