West Africa: ECOWAS Parliament Worried About Threats to Parliamentary Practice in Sierra Leone

Govt of Sierra Leone
Inside parliament (file photo)
26 April 2018
Economic Community of West African States (Abuja)
press release

Abuja — The ECOWAS Parliament has learnt about worrying developments in the just inaugurated Parliament of Sierra Leone.

The report reaching us that riot police went into the chamber of the Parliament of Sierra Leone to forcibly remove elected and sworn in members of Parliament in order that the election of a Speaker could take place is a most dangerous and worrying development which cannot be countenanced.

West Africa has established for itself an enviable record of nurturing democratic culture which has witnessed the organization of difficult but successful elections with functioning Parliaments which are constantly improving on their capacities to operate inclusive governance as a basis for peace and political stability in the subregion. Aberrations from this progressive trajectory cannot be countenanced.

The ECOWAS Parliament will send a Mission to ascertain exactly what has motivated the reported situation and exactly what happened.

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