Sierra Leone
Parliament
About parliament
Basic information such as the official name of parliament and details of its structure and leadership. Also includes the current breakdown of MPs by sex and age, and provisions for quotas and reserved seats.
Parliament name
Parliament
Chamber name
Parliament
Parliamentary term (years)
5
IPU membership
Affiliation periods
from 1963 to 1967
from 1969 to 1982
from 2008
IPU Geopolitical Group/s
IPU Geopolitical Groups: African Group, Arab Group, Asia-Pacific Group, Eurasia Group, Group of Latin America and the Caribbean (GRULAC), Twelve Plus Group.
African Group
Speaker
Official title
The Speaker may for example be known as the Presiding Officer, President, Chairman/Chairperson, etc.
Speaker of Parliament
Speaker
Abass
Chernor Bundu
(Male)
Year of birth
1948
Term
25.04.2018
Additional information
Elected on 25 Apr. 2018, re-elected on 13 July 2023.
Secretary General
Official title
This post is most commonly called Secretary General or Clerk. It may also be called Secretary, Head/Chief of the Secretariat, Director General, etc.
Clerk
Secretary General
Umar Paran
Tarawally
(Male)
Members
Statutory number of members
Statutory number of members, as defined in the constitution or other fundamental law.
Principal mode of designation of members
Directly elected
Compare data of this field.
Directly elected members
Directly elected by citizens.
135
Indirectly elected members
Indirectly elected, for example by regional parliaments or an electoral college.
14
Note on the statutory number of members
Indirectly elected members: Fourteen Paramount Chiefs are elected to represent the 14 provincial districts.
Current number of members
Number of members who currently hold seats in parliament. May be lower or higher than the statutory number of members.
Men
The number of male parliamentarians who currently hold seats in parliament.
Women
The number of female parliamentarians who currently hold seats in parliament.
Percentage of women
Calculated by dividing the current number of women by the current number of members.
Statutory number of members per country
As defined in the constitution or other fundamental laws. Combines the number of parliamentarians in both chambers in bicameral parliaments.
Population (in thousands)
Click for historical data
See historical data for this field.
Age
Data on the age of parliamentarians is collected at the start of the legislature, following the most recent elections. This data is not updated during the legislature, except when parliament notifies the IPU of a change in the youngest or oldest member.
Average age of all members
Click for historical data
See historical data for this field.
Reserved seats and quotas
There are reserved seats in parliament for certain groups
Reserved seats are a means to ensure the parliamentary representation of certain groups in society.
Number of reserved seats, by group
Other groups
14
Notes
Fourteen Paramount Chiefs are indirectly elected to represent the 14 provincial districts.
Notes
Constitution for Paramount Chiefs
Electoral quota for women
Quotas to promote the representation of women in parliament.
Notes
- The Gender Empowerment Act 2021 stipulates that: 30% of constituency seats in each district are to be reserved exclusively for female candidates contesting parliamentary election; and that the Electoral Commission is to reject a party's list of candidates if it fails to comply with the 30% women’s quota.
- The Public Elections Act 2022 also stipulates that, for every three candidates nominated for parliamentary elections, one of them is to be female.
- Additionally, the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Act 2022 stipulates that 30% of public and private jobs must be reserved for women.
- The Public Elections Act 2022 also stipulates that, for every three candidates nominated for parliamentary elections, one of them is to be female.
- Additionally, the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Act 2022 stipulates that 30% of public and private jobs must be reserved for women.
Legal source
Legal text that stipulates the quota, such as the Constitution or electoral law.
- The Gender Empowerment Act 2021, Part II – Reserved Seats and Appointment to Public Office, articles 2 (1) (a) and 2 (3), published in the Supplement to the Sierra Leone Extraordinary Gazette Vol. CXLXII, No. 45, dated 16 August 2021
- The Public Elections Act 2022, Part VI – Election of Members of Parliament, article 58 (2), published in the Supplement to the Sierra Leone Gazette Extraordinary Vol. CXLXIII, No. 67, dated 20 September 2022
- The Gender Equality and Empowerment Act 2022, Part II – Public Elections and Appointment to Public Office, article 3, published in the Supplement to the Sierra Leone Gazette Extraordinary Vol. CXLXIII, No. 91, dated 30 December 2022
- The Public Elections Act 2022, Part VI – Election of Members of Parliament, article 58 (2), published in the Supplement to the Sierra Leone Gazette Extraordinary Vol. CXLXIII, No. 67, dated 20 September 2022
- The Gender Equality and Empowerment Act 2022, Part II – Public Elections and Appointment to Public Office, article 3, published in the Supplement to the Sierra Leone Gazette Extraordinary Vol. CXLXIII, No. 91, dated 30 December 2022
Electoral quota for youth
Quotas to promote the representation of youth in parliament.
Links to additional information
Parliamentary website
Link(s) to parliamentary web site in English, French and/or local languages.
List of members
Link(s) to list of members on the parliamentary web site.
Constitution
Official links to the Constitution in English, French and/or original language is provided. Links to unofficial translations where no other source is available.