By Lawrence Williams
The Parliament of Sierra Leone will today debate the Constitutional Amendment Bill, which primarily seeks to amend existing laws governing the conduct of elections and related matters.
Among other proposals, the bill seeks to establish a Search and Nomination Committee through which electoral commissioners will be appointed, guarantee a 30% quota for women to contest elections, and create a legal basis for independent candidates who can demonstrate “sufficient financial capacity and community support” to contest presidential elections.
Despite these notable provisions, the bill also proposes the deregistration of political parties that fail to win a seat in two consecutive general elections.
Perhaps the most contentious aspect of the bill is its proposal to retain the proportional representation (PR) system for parliamentary elections.
This has sparked intense debate across the political spectrum, with the government and the opposition sharply divided over its suitability.
The government argues that PR promotes greater political diversity, eliminates the cost of holding by-elections, and contributes to a more stable and peaceful political environment.
While the PR system has indeed eliminated the need for costly by-elections, since none has been held post 2023 general elections, the argument that it increases smaller parties’ representation in parliament has been negated by the tangible composition of the current House, where SLPP and APC are the only two parties represented there.
The opposition All People’s Congress (APC), on the other hand, contends that the PR system disadvantages smaller political parties, pointing to the outcome of the 2023 elections as evidence. The party also argues that PR shifts decision-making power away from the electorate and places it in the hands of political parties through party lists.
The APC maintains that the constituency-based electoral system remains the best model for ensuring genuine representation of the people.
Another contentious proposal concerns the threshold for winning a presidential election. The bill introduces what critics describe as “onerous provisions” for election to the Office of the President. It provides that a presidential candidate must obtain “a simple majority of the total valid votes cast throughout Sierra Leone and a minimum of 20% of the total valid votes cast in at least two-thirds of the districts of Sierra Leone.”
As lawmakers convene to debate and vote on these proposals, the public is anxiously waiting to see how parliament ultimately decides on a bill that could reshape the country’s electoral landscape at a time when public trust in political leadership is at one of its lowest points.
