By Joseph S. Margai In Freetown, Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone’s main opposition political party, the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) has set out criteria for candidates aspiring for the presidential race requiring candidates wishing to contest in the March 7, 2018 presidential election to pay the sum of Le120m ($16, 000usd).
SLPP was established in 1951 and upon independence in 1961. Sir Milton Margai became Prime Minister, and
the SLPP became the ruling party. The party lost power to the ruling All People’s Congress (APC) in 2007 and 2012, respectively.
In a press release published in the SLPP’s Unity Newspaper on Thursday, August 10, 2017, party membership and candidature fees formed part of the criteria.
In the area of candidature fee, it was stated that an aspirant for the position of the party’s presidential candidate shall pay a non-refundable candidature fee of Le120m into an SLPP special account.
“One of the candidature fee thus specified every aspirant shall pay as aforesaid a commitment fee of 20% at the same time that he submits his/her declaration of intent to the National Secretariat. The balance of 80% of the candidature fee shall be paid by the aspirant after the successful determination of his/her eligibility to contest for the position of the party’s presidential nominee by the Independent Elections Monitoring and Oversight Committee (IEMOC) and before the commencement of the campaign period,” the release said.
This figure, according to political analysts, was in complete contradiction of the Le50m ($6,66.67usd) paid as presidential candidature fee in 2007 election and Le100m ($13,333.32usd) paid in the 2012 election.
In the area of party membership, an aspirant must be a fully paid up member of the party and is of the category of a Grand Chief Patron of the party for a period of at least one year immediately preceding his/her aforesaid declaration of intent.
