By Sallieu S. Kanu
The 2023 Presidential Candidate for the main opposition All People’s Congress (APC) party, Dr. Samura Kamara has been asked by the Party to vacate the office of the National Leader at their headquarters in Freetown.
The party’s Secretary General, Lansana Dumbuya said in a letter (dated November 1, 2024) addressed to Dr Samura Kamara that it is unconstitutional for the 2023 Presidential Candidate to the position of leader of the party six months after elections since he failed to win in 2023, according to section 47 (a) (iv) of the APC Constitution.
The said section states, “Where the National Leader fails to be elected President of Sierra Leone, he shall relinquish the position of National Leader six months after the declaration of results by the National Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone, notwithstanding any petition filed in the Supreme Court or pursuant to any law; and such position shall remain vacant until further election for the party’s presidential candidate is conducted pursuant to this constitution.”
The party said Samura Kamara agreed to vacate his position when they met last year in December.
“In that meeting, we candidly discussed the constitutional provision and your commitment to adhering to it,” the Secretariat said. “You candidly accepted without hesitation that your role as flagbearer and leader of the party would cease.”
The Secretary General added that their pronouncement is also based on a meeting they held in December in which they agreed that Samura Kamara leads the party in the Tripartite Committee, adding that his leadership in the Committee did not mean that he is still a leader of the party.
“We respectfully request that you return the keys to the National Leader’s office to the undersigned within a week of receiving this letter,” the Secretary General noted.
Meanwhile, the former Presidential Candidate is yet to respond to the letter.