By Ragan M. Conteh

The Leader of Opposition in Parliament Hon. Abdul Kargbo has cast blame on the sitting government that it is not democratic.

He told newsmen in Parliament as he said the   Bio-led government is not only undemocratic but it is not opened to criticisms.

Hon. Kargbo said one aspect of undemocratic tendency demonstrated lately occurred during the Town Hall meeting organized by the Ministry of Information and Civic Education MoICE at the Bintumani Conference Centre.

He informed newsmen that when a lady stood up to ask a question somebody attempted to hit her from behind for merely asking a question.

Sierra Leone as a democratic state, he said, her leaders must ensure that everyone has the right and liberty to ask questions and expressed their grievances.

Hon Kargbo said  Sierra Leone has more to work on in terms of upholding decent democracy and the rule of law.

Hon. Kargbo argued that government should be open up to criticism and he emphasized that any government that doesn’t want or encourage open criticism by the public and the opposition that government is not a democratic government. And he added that such was an act of demonstration  manifested during the Town Hall meeting under the leadership of President Bio.

“Not everybody will clap and sing for a government, when a President does bad we should be bold enough to tell him that he has done wrong or what he does is  not correct,” Hon. Kargbo said.

The MP accused the ruling party of interfering into 2023 general elections, such a tactic by the sitting government is becoming a pattern.

He cited the Sierra Leone Bar Association’s elections as a clear indication of a similar occurrence of what happened in the 2023 General Elections.

He affirmed that the ruling government led by President Bio is still struggling to put up effective structures in governance due to lack of processes and procedures in the entire electioneering processes.

Responding to comments made by Hon. Kargbo, Information minister Chernor Bah, completely condemned the people who attacked the lady, though many believe, he had initially failed to do so publicly during the Town Hall meeting.

In democracy, Minister Bah said “there are rules and regulations which the lady had failed to adhere to.”

He condemned the action against the lady as quite wrong, but said, herself did not adhere to the rules of the game.

The leader of government business Hon. Sahr Mathew Nyuma assured that most of the votes done in the Well are done collectively for the betterment of Sierra Leone.

He said faceless demonstration is not a bedrock of democracy and he urged journalists to expose those  living in overseas who are inciting most Sierra Leoneans to go on series of planned demonstrations in the country.

He said the Tripartite Committee was meant to review “our electoral law adding that was passes in 2022.

Hon. Nyuma said the media have a role to play in terms of promoting a nation’s cohesion.