Opposition APC faces another setback : Old executive to stay until court rules on present legal case

The Political Parties Regulation Commission ( PPRC ) has officially given the go ahead to the Osman Foday Yansaneh – led executive to remain in office until a case brought against the party is decided.

The Political Parties Regulation Commission (PPRC) announced that the current executive of Sierra Leone’s All People’s Congress (APC) must stay in office and continue running party affairs. This decision pauses a planned leadership handover because an APC member filed a court challenge against the Commission’s transition directives. [1, 2, 3]

Background and Directives

The PPRC originally extended the APC Executive’s term by six months under Section 39(5) of the Political Parties Act 2022.

A second directive stated that if the executive failed to hold a National Delegates’ Conference during that period, the APC parliamentary leader and five regional MPs would take over.

An internal legal challenge over that second handover plan stopped the transition. [1]

Current Status

The PPRC stated that the status quo remains.

The existing APC executive keeps administrative control of the party.

The current leadership stays in place until the court finishes deciding the case.According to the Calabash newspaper :The clarification was contained in a press statement issued by the PPRC on Monday, 17 August 2026, following earlier directives communicated to the APC on 13 February 2026.According to the Commission, it had exercised its constitutional and statutory mandate by extending the tenure of the APC Executive for six months under Section 39(5) of the Political Parties Act 2022, Act No. 25 of 2022.
The extension was intended to provide the party with additional time to address its internal leadership arrangements and proceed towards its National Delegates’ Conference.

The PPRC said the second limb of its February directive provided that if the APC Executive failed to take the party to its National Delegates’ Conference after the expiration of the six-month extension, the Leader of the APC in Parliament, together with the party’s five other Members of Parliament representing each region, would assume responsibility for managing the party’s affairs until the National Delegates’ Conference was held.

However, the Commission disclosed that a member of the APC has instituted legal proceedings against both the PPRC and the party in relation to that second directive.

As a result of the pending court action, the Commission said it is constrained from implementing the second component of its directive until the matter has been determined by the court.

“In light of the above and in cognizance of the fact that a member of the party has taken the PPRC and the All People’s Congress to court regarding the second directive, the Commission is constrained to effect its second directive thus, the status quo shall remain the same pending the determination of the matter in court,” the statement said.

The PPRC consequently confirmed that the current APC executive members will remain responsible for running the affairs of the party while the legal proceedings continue.

The development means that the leadership arrangement contemplated under the Commission’s second directive will not take effect at this stage, with the existing party executive retaining administrative responsibility until the court decides the matter.

The Commission did not indicate in the statement when the court proceedings are expected to conclude or provide a new timeline for the APC National Delegates’ Conference.

The press statement was signed by Lucien H.L. Momoh, Director of Public Education and ICT at the Political Parties Regulation Commission.
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