While lawmakers were in session on Wednesday, Nov. 23, a fight broke out in the parliament of Sierra Leone in Freetown.
They discussed a proposed electoral reform that would enable proportional representation in the election of the next year.
Representatives from the opposition All People’s Congress (APC) and the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) can be seen fighting and hurling chairs in video footage.
The electoral commision of the West African country recommended converting to a proportional representation system for the local and parliamentary elections, but not the presidential ones, scheduled for the following year.
When the government supports the idea, the opposition asserts that the action would be unlawful.
However, it needs parliamentary approval in order to be passed.
A vase was broken and equipment was destroyed by lawmakers.
Around 1100 GMT, a brawl broke out, and by midday, everything had calmed down. The police reportedly intervened to control the tumultuous situation and eject disruptive MPs from the chamber.
President Julius Bio, who was initially elected in 2018, will run for re-election in June 2023.
Before the upcoming election, parliamentarians passed legislation last week to implement a gender quota in all elected and appointed offices, which had been a key campaign promise made by the president in 2018.
