Sierra Leone’s constitutional reform process has entered another critical stage after Parliament agreed to remove a provision that would have allowed independent candidates to contest presidential elections, while major disagreements persist over proportional representation and the threshold required to win the presidency.
Members of Parliament from the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party and the main opposition All People’s Congress reached the decision during the Committee Stage of the Constitution of Sierra Leone (Amendment) Bill, 2025, on Monday, 3 August 2026.
The original proposal sought to amend Sections 41 and 42 of the 1991 Constitution to permit a person who is not a member of a political party to contest a presidential election. Such a candidate would have been required to demonstrate sufficient financial capacity and community support under conditions prescribed by law. The provision was contained in the original Constitutional Amendment Bill.
Its deletion at the Committee Stage means the existing party-based arrangement is expected to remain in place if the decision is retained in the final version of the Bill. Under the current framework, presidential candidates must be nominated by registered political parties.
The independent-candidate proposal attracted opposition from lawmakers on both sides of the political divide and raised concerns among sections of civil society. Critics argued that its undefined financial requirements could give wealthy individuals an unfair advantage and potentially weaken the role of political parties in Sierra Leone’s democratic system.
Despite the cross-party agreement on that provision, Parliament remains divided over the proposed reduction of the presidential election threshold from 55 per cent to a simple majority, commonly described as 50 per cent plus one vote.
The draft Bill provides that a presidential candidate may be declared elected after securing a simple majority of all valid votes cast nationwide and at least 20 per cent of the valid votes in two-thirds of Sierra Leone’s districts. If no candidate meets both conditions, a run-off election would be conducted.
Supporters of the amendment contend that a candidate who receives more than half of the valid national vote has obtained a sufficient democratic mandate. They argue that the proposed system could reduce the financial cost, political tension and security risks associated with conducting a second round of voting.
The APC, however, has demanded the retention of the existing 55 per cent threshold, arguing that it encourages presidential candidates to secure broader national support and promotes greater legitimacy for the eventual winner.
Attorney-General and Minister of Justice Alpha Sesay, who is piloting the Bill through Parliament, has accused the APC leadership of abandoning an earlier understanding reached during consultations.
Sesay said APC representatives had previously accepted the simple-majority proposal as part of a negotiated compromise, adding that some elements of the reported agreement were recorded in writing. He described the opposition’s subsequent position as disappointing and maintained that his office had engaged the party in good faith throughout the reform process. The APC’s alleged earlier agreement was reported following the resumption of parliamentary debate on 3 August.
The APC has maintained its opposition, insisting that significant changes to Sierra Leone’s electoral framework should not be enacted without extensive public consultation and broad national consensus.
Another major area of disagreement is the proposed permanent adoption of proportional representation, commonly known as the District Block system, for parliamentary elections.
Under the draft Bill, districts would serve as electoral units and return Members of Parliament from lists of candidates submitted by political parties. It would also delete the existing Section 38A and amend Section 74 to make proportional representation the system through which ordinary Members of Parliament are elected.
APC National Chairman Alhaji Osman Foday Yansaneh said the party strongly opposes making proportional representation Sierra Leone’s permanent electoral system.
Yansaneh argued that constituency-based elections under Section 38 and district-block representation under Section 38A are both recognised by the 1991 Constitution but were designed to respond to different national circumstances.
Section 38 provides for constituency-based parliamentary representation, while Section 38A allows the President, after consulting the Electoral Commission, to direct that an election be conducted through the District Block system when constituencies have not been established for the election.
“As far as the APC is concerned, both the PR system and the first-past-the-post system are embedded in Section 38 of the Constitution,” Yansaneh said, arguing that the appropriate system should be determined by prevailing circumstances.
“If nothing is broken, leave it intact,” he added.
APC Deputy Leader 1 in Parliament, Hon. Daniel Brima Koroma, expressed a similar position, arguing that Section 38A was intended to address exceptional situations and should not be transformed into a permanent electoral arrangement without comprehensive national dialogue.
The APC maintains that permanently adopting the District Block system would weaken direct accountability between lawmakers and their constituents. It also fears that the system could give political party leaders greater control over candidate selection and make parliamentary participation more difficult for grassroots, youth and financially disadvantaged aspirants.
Under a party-list PR system, voters primarily cast their ballots for political parties, which receive parliamentary seats in proportion to their share of the vote. Candidates are subsequently selected from lists submitted by the parties.
Supporters of proportional representation argue that it could promote national cohesion, reduce constituency-based political violence, lower election costs and improve the representation of women, young people and minority groups. The Government has also cited inclusion and the elimination of costly parliamentary by-elections among its reasons for supporting PR. The Government publicly outlined its support for the system during the electoral reform dialogue.
The draft legislation further proposes that at least 30 per cent of political parties’ nominees for national and local government elections should be women.
The constitutional debate follows the disputed 2023 elections and the subsequent Agreement for National Unity, which led to the creation of the Tripartite Committee on Electoral Systems and Management Bodies Review. The committee produced 80 recommendations intended to strengthen Sierra Leone’s electoral system and prevent future political disputes.
Tensions intensified earlier in 2026 when the APC launched a parliamentary boycott over the appointment of a new Chief Electoral Commissioner. The party returned to Parliament following mediated discussions and a Government commitment to restructure the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone by 31 December 2026.
Public institutions and civil society organisations have also taken positions on the proposed electoral system. The Sierra Leone Labour Congress, Council of Churches in Sierra Leone and Inter-Religious Council have expressed support for constituency-based elections. The Inter-Religious Council argued that FPTP provides clearer accountability between voters and their representatives.
A March 2026 opinion poll conducted by the Campaign for Human Rights and Development International reported that 68 per cent of respondents preferred constituency-based representation. However, the same poll found that 60 per cent believed they lacked sufficient civic education to make informed decisions about the proposed constitutional reforms. CHRDI’s reported poll findings have intensified calls for wider public education and consultation.
The proposed process for selecting members of the Electoral Commission also remains under consideration. The draft Bill provides for a Search and Nomination Committee consisting of representatives from the inter-religious community, the legal profession, civil society, the private sector, the media, youth groups and women’s organisations.
Parliament is expected to continue consideration of the Bill as political leaders seek compromises on the remaining disputed provisions.
Although removing the independent presidential candidate clause represents a significant area of agreement between the SLPP and APC, disagreements over proportional representation and the presidential threshold remain major obstacles to the constitutional reform process ahead of the 2028 elections.
