Sierra Leone

Parliament

Political system
Presidential system
Structure of parliament
Unicameral
IPU membership
Yes

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
Structure & status of parliament
Lower chamber
Parliamentary term (years)
5

IPU membership

Affiliation periods
from 1963 to 1966
from 1969 to 1981
from 2008
IPU Geopolitical Group/s
African Group

Speaker

Official title
Speaker of Parliament
Speaker
Segepoh Solomon Thomas (Male)
Date of birth: 14 May 1976
Term
02 May 2024
Additional information

Elected on 2 May 2024.

Speaker terms

No information available

Secretary general

Official title
Acting Clerk
Secretary General
Gilbert Bosco Nhabay (Male)
Term
28 May 2024

Members

Statutory number of members
149

Notes: Indirectly elected members: Fourteen Paramount Chiefs are elected to represent the 14 provincial districts.

Principal mode of designation of members
Directly elected
Directly elected members
135
Indirectly elected members
14
Current number of members
149
Men
105
Women
44
Percentage of women
29.5%
Statutory number of members per country
149
Population (in thousands)
8,460
Inhabitants per parliamentarian
57,945

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
47.6
(2023-07)
Youngest member
Alice Kornya Sandy (Female)
Youngest member (years)
26
Oldest member
Emilia Loloh Tongi (Female)
Oldest member (years)
69
Number of members, by age (2023-07)
Breakdown of members by age and gender
18 - 20 21 - 30 31 - 40 41 - 45 46 - 50 51 - 60 61 - 70 71 - 80 81 - 90 91 and over Totals per gender
Male 0 1 26 23 30 21 4 0 0 0 105
Female 0 2 4 13 5 10 10 0 0 0 44
Totals per age interval 0 3 30 36 35 31 14 0 0 0 149
Total <= 45: 69 Total >= 46: 80
Percentage of members, by age
Age at the last election or renewal Overall Male Female
Percentage of MPs 30 years of age or younger
2.0% 0.7% 1.3%
Percentage of MPs 40 years of age or younger
22.1% 18% 4.0%
Percentage of MPs 45 years of age or younger
46.3% 34% 12.8%

Reserved seats and quotas

There are reserved seats in parliament for certain groups
Yes

Notes: Constitution for Paramount Chiefs

Other groups
14

Notes: Fourteen Paramount Chiefs are indirectly elected to represent the 14 provincial districts.

Electoral quota for women
Yes

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.

Sources:

- 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

Youth quota
No

Links to additional information

Parliamentary website
List of members
Rules of procedure/Standing Orders
Constitution

Historical data for IPU membership

Historical data for IPU membership
Year IPU membership
2020-09
List of values for 2020-09
No
2019-04
List of values for 2019-04
No
2018-06
List of values for 2018-06
No