Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

The Development of Modern Trade Unionism in Sierra Leone, Part I

1985; Boston University; Volume: 18; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.2307/218647

2326-3016

David Fasholé Luke,

Historical and Contemporary Political Dynamics

With the SLPP as the party of government, Sierra Leone became an independent state within the British Commonwealth on 27 April 1961. In the period between the constitutional talks in London and the first held on the basis of universal suffrage in Sierra Leone (between August 1960 and May 1962), new political realignments became apparent. These resulted in divisions over questions of political strategy within the labor movement. The realignments began with the formation of the All People's Congress (APC) by Siaka Stevens, who had broken ranks with the United National Front (UNF), the coalition of all parties formed under the leadership of the SLPP to negotiate the administrative arrangements for the transfer of power from the British. Having lost his seat as an MP following the 1957 elections, and having unsuccessfully advocated elections before independence, Stevens left the UNF apparently over concessions made to the British for the continued use of Freetown as a naval