All People's Congress

The All People's Congress (APC) is one of the two major political parties in Sierra Leone, the other being its main political rival the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP). The APC has been the main opposition party in Sierra Leone since 4 April 2018 when Julius Maada Bio of the SLPP won the 2018 presidential elections, though it maintains a majority in parliament.

For Ghanaian political party, see All People's Congress (Ghana).
"All People's Congress" is also the name of a sister organisation of the Workers World Party in the United States.

All People's Congress
LeaderErnest Bai Koroma
ChairmanErnest Bai Koroma
Secretary-GeneralAlhaji Osman Foday Yansaneh
SpokespersonCornelius Deveaux
FounderSiaka Stevens
Founded20 March 1960 (1960-03-20)
Split fromSierra Leone People's Party
Headquarters31 Railway Line, Brookfields Freetown, Sierra Leone
IdeologyAfrican nationalism
Social democracy
Pan-Africanism
Political positionCentre-left
ColorsRed
Slogan"Action, Progress, Commitment"
Seats in Parliament
54 / 132
District Councils Chairperson
7 / 13
Municipalities Mayors
3 / 6
Website
apcpartysl.com

The APC party was founded in 1960 by a breakaway group from the Sierra Leone People's Party that vehemently opposed elections before independence and instead supported independence before elections. The APC governed the country from 1968 to 1992 and became the ruling party again in 2007 after the party presidential candidate Ernest Bai Koroma won the 2007 presidential election, he contested and also won the 2012 elections. The APC lost power on 4 April 2018, with its flagbearer Samura Kamara losing the presidential election to Bio.

The APC is very popular and receives large majority support in almost all of the northern districts of Sierra Leone with strong ties to the Temne and some Limba people. The APC is also popular with significant majority in the Western Area (including Freetown).

Overview

Following a heavily manipulated plebiscite in 1978, the APC became the sole legal party in the country, a status it retained until 1991. Presidents Siaka Stevens and Joseph Saidu Momoh were members of the APC. Momoh was overthrown in a military coup in 1992, and during the civil war that followed, the party was severely weakened.

In the parliamentary election held on 14 May 2002, the party won 19.8% of the popular vote and 22 out of 112 seats. Its candidate in the presidential elections, Ernest Bai Koroma, won 22.3% of the vote; he was defeated by Ahmad Tejan Kabbah of the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP).

An All People's Congress rally in Kabala in 1968

For several years Koroma's leadership was challenged by some in the party, who took the issue to court; the dispute was said to be resolved in April 2007, with Koroma accepted by party dissidents as the party's leader ahead of the 2007 election.[1][2] He was the party's candidate for president in the election, with the first round held in August 2007. In the first round he took first place with 44.3% of the vote, ahead of Solomon Berewa of the ruling Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) with 38.3%, but Koroma did not receive enough votes to win outright, and a second round was necessary. In the parliamentary election, held concurrently with the presidential first round, the APC won 59 out of 112 seats and became the largest party in Parliament.[3]

Koroma was victorious in the second round of the 2007 presidential election, held on 8 September, winning 54.6% of the vote against 45.4% for Berewa.[4][5] He was sworn in as President on 17 September.[6]

APC has traditionally been based among the Temne and Limba people in the north.[7][8]

Electoral history

Presidential elections
Election Party candidate Votes % Votes % Result
First round Second round
1985 Joseph Saidu Momoh 2,780,495 99.9% — Elected Green tickY
1996 Edward Turay 38,316 5.1% — Lost Red XN
2002 Ernest Bai Koroma 426,405 22.4% — Lost Red XN
2007 815,523 44.3% 950,407 54.6% Elected Green tickY
2012 1,314,881 58.7% — Elected Green tickY
2018 Samura Kamara 1,082,748 42.7% 1,227,171 48.2% Lost Red XN
2023 1,148,262 41.2% — Lost Red XN

Parliamentary elections
Election Votes % Seats +/– Position Government
1962 114,333 17.23%
16 / 74
 New Increase 2nd Opposition
1967 279,715 44.92%
32 / 78
 Increase 16 Increase 1st Coalition
1973 —
84 / 97
 Increase 52 Steady 1st Supermajority
1977 425,358 61.93%
70 / 100
 Decrease 14 Steady 1st Supermajority
1982 —
85 / 104
 Increase 15 Steady 1st Sole legal party
1986 —
105 / 127
 Increase 20 Steady 1st Sole legal party
1996 42,467 5.69%
5 / 80
 Decrease 100 Decrease 4th Opposition
2002 409,313 21.41%
27 / 112
 Increase 22 Increase 2nd Opposition
2007 728,898 40.73%
59 / 124
 Increase 32 Increase 1st Coalition
2012 1,149,234 53.67%
67 / 124
 Increase 8 Steady 1st Government
2018 989,431 39.93%
68 / 146
 Increase 1 Steady 1st Opposition
2023 1,113,882 40.00%
54 / 149
 Decrease 14 Decrease 2nd Opposition

References
  1. Sayoh Kamara, "APC Gets Final Peace in Sierra Leone", Awareness Times, 5 April 2007.
  2. "Sierra Leone’s main opposition party settles internal dispute", African Press Agency, 6 April 2007. "African Press Agency - Item". Archived from the original on 13 December 2007. Retrieved 24 July 2007.
  3. "Freetown opposition party wins majority" Archived 15 June 2006 at the Wayback Machine, Reuters, 24 August 2007.
  4. Rod MacJohnson, "Sierra Leone gets a new leader", AFP, 17 September 2007.
  5. "S Leone opposition win presidency", BBC News, 17 September 2007.
  6. Katrina Manson and Christo Johnson, "Koroma pledges healing in Sierra Leone", Reuters, 18 September 2007.
  7. Joseph J. Bangura; Marda Mustapha (29 April 2016). Democratization and Human Security in Postwar Sierra Leone. Palgrave Macmillan US. p. 31. ISBN 978-1-137-48674-5.
  8. Verena Fritz; Brian Levy; Rachel Ort (13 January 2014). Problem-Driven Political Economy Analysis: The World Bank's Experience. World Bank Publications. p. 184. ISBN 978-1-4648-0122-8.
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