–Former CDP Chairman Gibrill Thullah
By Lamin Bangura
Former Chairman of the Citizens Democratic Party (CDP), Gibril Thullah, has said that former presidential candidate Alhaji Musa Tarawally resigned from the party in June 2018, following disagreements that emerged within the party during the 2018 presidential run-off.
Thullah made the disclosure during an interview with Ecko Media which he sought to clarify the circumstances surrounding Tarawally’s political affiliation with the CDP and the party’s position during the 2018 elections.
According to Thullah, several political parties, including the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Revolutionary United Front (RUF) and the People’s Liberation Party (PLP), came together ahead of the 2018 elections to form a coalition. He said Tarawally was subsequently considered to lead the coalition and contest the election under the banner of the CDP.
Thullah explained that after the first round of the 2018 presidential election, political discussions intensified as the contest moved into a run-off between the ruling candidate Dr Samura Kamara of the All People’s Congress (APC) and the then opposition candidate, Julius Maada Bio of the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP).
He said CDP officials and other stakeholders held consultations on which candidate the party should support in the run-off.
According to Thullah, Tarawally, who was then a leading figure within the CDP, took party officials and members to meet representatives of the SLPP, including senior party figures, where they discussed the possibility of supporting Bio in the run-off.
Thullah said the meeting initially created the impression that the CDP would collectively support the SLPP candidate. However, he said that disagreements emerged among CDP members shortly after the meeting, with some members expressing support for different political parties.
He said the development eventually resulted in divisions within the party, with Tarawally supporting President Bio while other CDP members, including himself, supported Dr Samura Kamara.
“At that time, I was still the chairman, while Alhaji Musa Tarawally was the leader,” Thullah explained, recounting the events surrounding the internal dispute.
According to the former chairman, the disagreement prompted the party leadership to take disciplinary action against Tarawally. He said a letter was subsequently written concerning Tarawally’s suspension and circulated to a number of political parties. Thullah, however, said the process surrounding the suspension letter encountered an administrative problem because of an error in the date.
He recalled that a political party leader subsequently contacted him and asked that the circulation of the letter be stopped until the issue was clarified.
Thullah further stated that, during this period, Tarawally submitted a letter announcing his resignation from the CDP.
He said although the resignation letter was not written on the party’s official letterhead, Tarawally had nonetheless communicated his decision to leave the party.
“During the process, Alhaji Musa Tarawally resigned from the party,” Thullah said, adding that Tarawally had first been suspended before submitting his resignation.
The former chairman maintained that, based on his recollection and the records surrounding the events, Tarawally ceased to be a member of the CDP following his resignation in June 2018.
His comments come amid renewed questions over Tarawally’s relationship with the CDP and his subsequent political activities, with Thullah stressing that his account was intended to provide clarity on what transpired within the party during the politically significant period leading up to and following the 2018 presidential election.
Thullah also distinguished his account from his current political affiliation, noting that he was speaking based on his previous position as a CDP official and his knowledge of the events at the time.
The former chairman’s account places the dispute within the broader political realignment that followed the first round of the 2018 presidential election, when smaller parties and political groups faced decisions over whether to support Dr Samura Kamara or Julius Maada Bio in the run-off.
Thullah said the disagreements over the CDP’s political position ultimately contributed to a split among its members and culminated in Tarawally’s suspension and subsequent resignation from the party.