Regional Chairmen of the Citizens Democratic Party (CDP) have rejected claims that former presidential candidate Hon. Alhaji Musa Tarawally remains a member of the party, insisting that he resigned in June 2018 and subsequently returned to the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP).
In a press statement dated September 18, 2026, the Regional Chairmen representing the Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western Regions said they were refuting the contents of a letter reportedly signed by the CDP Secretary General, which stated that Tarawally remains a member of the party.
Tarawally contested the 2018 presidential election on the CDP ticket, receiving 11,493 votes in the first round.
According to the Regional Chairmen, Tarawally formally resigned from the CDP on June 15, 2018, following the first round of the 2018 presidential election. They said his resignation letter was addressed to the then National Secretary General, Victor O. King, who currently serves as the National Chairman of the CDP.
The Regional Chairmen further stated that they witnessed Tarawally’s subsequent return to the SLPP and his public declaration of support for President Julius Maada Bio during the 2018 presidential run-off campaign at the Bo Coronation Field.
They also questioned the process through which the CDP Secretary General reportedly communicated Tarawally’s membership status to the SLPP leadership.
According to the statement, when the Secretary General received an inquiry from the SLPP Chairman concerning Tarawally’s membership, he allegedly failed to consult the CDP’s Regional Chairmen before responding.
The Regional Chairmen further claimed that the current CDP National Chairman, who was serving as National Secretary General when Tarawally submitted his resignation in 2018, was not consulted before the letter was issued.
They said the National Chairman had informed them that he neither approved nor signed the correspondence.
The statement also raises concerns over the letterhead allegedly used for the communication to the SLPP Chairman. The Regional Chairmen claimed that the letter was written on an outdated CDP letterhead bearing an address previously used by the party in 2018 and 2019, which they said is now being used as a private residence.
“Hon. Alhaji Musa Tarawally is not a member of the Citizens Democratic Party,” the Regional Chairmen stated, arguing that any contrary claim does not represent the position of the party’s regional leadership or accord with the CDP Constitution.
They called on the concerned parties and the general public to disregard assertions that Tarawally remains a member of the CDP.
The latest development follows a September 17 letter from SLPP National Chairman Jimmy Batilo Songa directing Tarawally to stop presenting himself as an SLPP member or flagbearer aspirant, after the SLPP said the CDP had confirmed his membership.
Tarawally has separately rejected that position, saying he resigned from the CDP in 2018 and has remained a member of the SLPP since then.
