S i e r r a L e o n e Commonwealth Governance Handbook 2013/14 263 Government and politics Last elections: 17 November 2012 (presidential, legislative and local council) Next elections: 2017 (presidential and legislative) Head of State: President Ernest Bai Koroma Head of Government: the President Ruling party: All People’s Congress Following signature of the July 1999 peace agreement UN peacekeepers proceeded with disarming rebel troops and took control over a growing area of the country, and in May 2002 presidential and parliamentary elections were held with Commonwealth observers present. Ahmad Tejan Kabbah and the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) won a landslide victory, receiving about 70 per cent of the votes in the presidential election, defeating Ernest Bai Koroma. In the parliamentary elections in August 2007, Koroma's All People's Congress (APC) was the largest party with 59 seats, the SLPP won 43 seats and People’s Movement for Democratic Change (PMDC) ten. The simultaneous first round of the presidential election was won by APC leader Ernest Bai Koroma with 44 per cent of votes; the incumbent SLPP candidate, Solomon Berewa, came second with 38 per cent and Charles Margai of PMDC third with 14 per cent. Since no candidate received the 55 per cent needed to secure the presidency, the leading two candidates, Koroma and Berewa, went into a second round. Koroma received 54.6 per cent of second-round votes and was sworn in as President. Commonwealth observers reported that both parliamentary and presidential elections had been conducted in a democratic, credible and professional way in accordance with internationally accepted standards. Presidential, parliamentary and local council elections were held in November 2012 with Commonwealth observers present. President Koroma was re-elected with 58.7 per cent of the votes cast, his main challenger, the SLPP’s candidate, Julius Maada Bio, taking 37.4 per cent. In the parliamentary elections the APC secured 67 of 112 directly elected seats and the SLPP 42. The Commonwealth observers concluded that ‘the organisation and conduct of these elections had met international standards and benchmarks for free and transparent multiparty elections’. Local government Ministry: Local Government and Rural Development In Sierra Leone there are three spheres of government: central, local and chiefdoms. Local government is provided for by the Local Government Act 2004, and not by the constitution. The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development is responsible for local government, which comprises six urban councils (Freetown, Bo, Kenema, Makeni, Koidu and Bonthe) and 13 district councils. In the third sphere of government there are some 150 chiefdom councils. Local council elections are held every four years. The local authorities and chiefdom councils have revenueraising powers, and they do levy property taxes and licence fees, as well as receiving regular and one-off transfers from national government. The Local Government Act 2004 specifies 80 functions to be devolved to local government, all of which were to be devolved by the end of 2012. Among the first functions devolved were primary and secondary health; primary and junior-secondary education; environmental health; agriculture extension services; rural water supply; waste management; and community development. National development plan The Sierra Leone Vision 2025, published in August 2003, provided a long-term perspective for national development. Policy Vision 2025’s strategic objectives are: • A competitive, private sector-led economy with effective indigenous participation • A high quality of life for all • A well-educated, science and technology-literate, secure and democratic society • Sustainable exploitation of natural resources Governance The Anti-Corruption Commission was established in 2000. Under its 2008 mandate it was given prosecutorial powers and a stronger role in promoting integrity in public life. It combats corruption by confrontation, prevention and public education. Further information Office of the President of the Republic of Sierra Leone: www.statehouse.gov.sl Commonwealth Secretariat: www.thecommonwealth.org Commonwealth Governance: www.commonwealthgovernance.org Governance institutions National Electoral Commission: www.necsierraleone. org Parliament of Sierra Leone: www.sl-parliament.org Anti-Corruption Commission: www.anticorruption.gov.sl Network Movement for Justice and Development: www.nmjd.org Ministry of Finance and Economic Development: www.mofed.gov.sl Ministry of Trade and Industry: www.trade.gov.sl Bank of Sierra Leone: www.bsl.gov.sl
CGH13_ebook
To see the actual publication please follow the link above