Africa-Press – Sierra-Leone. In April 1992, a group of young military officers including Lieutenant Julius Maada Bio overthrew the one-party dictatorship of President Joseph Saidu Momoh.
After four years in office, under the leadership of Brigadier Julius Maada Bio, Presidential and Parliamentary elections were held in Sierra Leone in February 1996. Ahmad Tejan Kabbah of the SLPP emerged victorious in the run-off elections held in March of the same year.
After four years of NPRC military rule, Brigadier Julius Maada Bio conducted multi-party elections and peacefully handed over power to the elected President. The coup of 1996 brought an end to several years of one-party dictatorship under the APC party.
Two-Party Dictatorship
Since 1996, the two dominant political parties (the APC and the SLPP) have dominated state governance. Both Parties have occupied the Presidency and Parliament. At no time, since 1996, did any one of the two parties fail to produce Members of Parliament.
Because of the PR (Proportional Representation) System, the APC, PDP, UNPP, DCP, SLPP won seats in Parliament in the 1996 general elections.
In the June 2023 general elections, only the SLPP and the APC won seats in Parliament. All the other political parties that contested the general elections in June 2023 failed to secure a single seat in Parliament. The two dominant political parties (APC and SLPP) have survived through thick and thin. They have dominated state governance since 1996.
New Governance Model
In his state of the nation address on 7th August, 2025 His Excellency President Brigadier (Rtd) Julius Maada Bio proposed some governance reforms that, in his view, will unite the country. Having served as head of state for seven years and another four years as a key player in the NPRC military junta, President Bio is now in a better position to propose changes in the governance architecture that will help to unite this country.
Because of his knowledge and his direct involvement in peace consolidation in Sierra Leone, President Bio is the right man to introduce changes that will help unite this country.
President Bio and his colleagues ended the one-party dictatorship of the APC Party in 1992.
By proposing a PR system that will lead to an inclusive governance architecture in Sierra Leone, President Bio is about to make history once again, by ending the two-party dictatorship in Sierra Leone. The winner-takes-all system of governance has failed to unite this country.
Now, President Bio is proposing an inclusive governance system that will serve as a mild form of power sharing at the executive level, by allocating certain cabinet, ambassadorial and heads of state enterprises posts (at least 30%) to opposition political parties that win seats in Parliament. With this proposal, President Bio believes that, the tension around general elections will be minimized and the country will be united.
Let us support President Bio’s proposal for the adoption of a PR system that will lead to the emergence of an inclusive government, a government that works for everyone. Not a government dominated by one tribe and/or one single region of the country. This is what we call “A visionary leadership.”
God bless President Julius Maada Bio!!!
Source: Sierraloaded
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