The main opposition the All People's Congress, which won the most seats in Parliament, boycotted the election process in protest and did not nominate a candidate for speaker.
[5][6][7] Bundu is a veteran politician, and a very close ally and personal friend of Sierra Leone's president Julius Maada Bio.
Abass Chernor Bundu was born in the rural town of Gbinti, Port Loko District in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone, then under British control.
Bundu's numerous positions include Assistant Director of International Affairs and Consultant in Constitutional Law in the Commonwealth Secretariat in London from 1975 to 1982; Executive Secretary of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) from 1989 to 1993, the posts of Foreign Minister (1994–1995), Minister of Agriculture 1982–85; and presidential candidate in the 1996 presidential election in Sierra Leone.
[11] In 1991, Dr. Bundu strongly criticised President Joseph Saidu Momoh's government because of clauses their party wished to add to Sierra Leone's constitution.