COURT SETS 21-DAY CLOCK FOR APC ELECTIONS AS EXECUTIVE POWERS FACE FRESH CURBS

JUDGE FISHER TIGHTENS THE LEGAL ROPE — APC INTERNAL ELECTIONS AND PETITIONS GIVEN 21 DAYS TO REACH THE FINISH LINE

A High Court in Sierra Leone has further tightened restrictions on the powers of senior officials of the opposition All People’s Congress (APC), while simultaneously clearing the way for the party’s long-running internal electoral process to move forward.

Justice Adrian Fisher issued a fresh interim order limiting the extent to which key APC executive officials can perform their usual party functions as the legal dispute surrounding the party’s leadership, administration and internal affairs continues.

At the centre of the latest order is a firm 21-day deadline. The court has directed that the APC’s outstanding internal elections and related petitions be completed within 21 days, potentially placing renewed pressure on the party to resolve outstanding disputes and advance its electoral process without further delay.

Despite the restrictions, APC National Chairman and Leader Osman Foday Yansaneh and National Secretary General Lansana Dumbuya have been permitted to sign approved party payments. This provision gives the two senior officials a limited administrative role while other functions of the executive remain constrained by the court’s interim measures.

The order also makes clear that there will be no caretaker arrangement for the position of Secretary General. Mr. Dumbuya will therefore continue to operate in a limited capacity, with the court recognising his knowledge of the party’s affairs and ongoing activities as a factor in maintaining continuity.

The latest development follows an earlier injunction issued by Justice Fisher on 27 August, which restrained Mr. Yansaneh and Mr. Dumbuya from presenting themselves as APC executive members or carrying out functions associated with their respective offices.

The new order therefore creates a delicate balance: while the court continues to restrict aspects of the APC executive’s authority, it has also provided a pathway for the party’s internal democratic process to continue.

With only 21 days to complete the elections and petitions, attention will now turn to whether the APC can navigate its internal disagreements, comply with the court’s directives and complete the outstanding electoral activities within the prescribed period.

The ruling places the party’s internal political machinery under an intense legal and organisational spotlight, as the APC faces the immediate task of completing its electoral process while operating within clearly defined judicial boundaries.