During the 2007 general elections, the PMDC was flying high as the country’s 3rd political force second to the main opposition SLPP, thereby making the position very hot for the latter.

In 2012’s general elections, the UDM rose as a new political party and knocked off the PMDC, taking over as 3rd force and gave the SLPP something to worry about in the second position.

With recent developments in the political landscape ahead of the 2018 general elections, all eyes are on the NGC as it continues to prove its popularity over its co-opposition political parties.

Some say the day-to-day growing popularity, membership and support base of the NGC must have worried the SLPP and even the APC, as many believed that the former seemed to have all it takes, popularity wise and financially, to knock off the SLPP from its second position and by extension the APC from the presidency come March 2018.

This according to many people is because most of those political gurus and vote controllers formerly of the APC, SLPP, UDM and PMDC are now registered founding members of the NGC making the party a true force to reckon with in the 2018 political battle.

However, there are those who argue that Sierra Leone does not need a political third force. They justify this argument by pointing to the fact that no party other than the APC and the SLPP have ruled Sierra Leone since independence in 1961; despite strong efforts made by several political parties over the last 15 years.

Some say the possibilities for a third party to create serious political upset for the APC are more present now than ever before.

Thomas Victor Sawyer, a senior political analyst who spoke to AYV newspaper before press time last evening said: “The NGC must also ensure that it does not repeat the mistakes of those who have failed in their attempts to develop a third force. The core problems with Sierra Leone’s politics, which any third party must address to create any chance of success, are wide ranging. The deep-rooted historical, tribal and regional divisions between APC and SLPP is perhaps most critical, especially because they handed down by one generation to the other.”