(Freetown) A fight between deputies broke out Wednesday in the Sierra Leonean Parliament during a debate on a proposal to modify the electoral system, six months before the presidential election, according to images broadcast by local media.
In a video authenticated by AFP, MPs from the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) come to blows with representatives of the former ruling party, the All People’s Congress (APC). the people).
Some objects fly in the hemicycle, notably what appears to be a large ornamental vase and some chairs.
The electoral commission of this small West African state has recommended changing the electoral system for the presidential election of June 2023, a decision defended by the government and condemned by the opposition, which considers it unconstitutional.
Some deputies involved in the fight were expelled from the hemicycle by security agents, a local journalist present in the room told AFP.
The debate was then able to continue in peace.
Despite a soil rich in diamonds, Sierra Leone is one of the least developed countries in the world.
The former British colony and its eight million inhabitants, hit by a civil war from 1991 to 2002 then the Ebola epidemic of 2014-2016 in West Africa, is now tested by the consequences of the pandemic of COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine.
The capital Freetown and other cities were rocked on August 10 by violent clashes between security forces and young people protesting against rising prices and demanding the departure of President Julius Maada Bio, elected in 2018.
The authorities have spoken of an attempt to overthrow the government. There were officially 31 deaths.