| Parliament name |
Parliament |
| Structure of parliament |
Unicameral |
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
7 March 2018 |
| Timing and scope of renewal |
The All People's Congress (APC) remained the largest party in the 146-member Parliament (up from 124), while the opposition Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) remained the second largest. No presidential candidate secured the required 55% of votes to be elected in the first round held in parallel with the parliamentary polls. In the run-off presidential elections held on 31 March, Mr. Julius Madaa Bio (SLPP) defeated former foreign affairs minister Samura Kamara (APC). On 5 April, Mr. Bio, who briefly ruled Sierra Leone as head of a military junta in 1996, was sworn in as the country's new President. He succeeded Mr. Ernest Koroma (APC) who was unable to run in the 2018 elections due to the two-term limit for the presidency.
The 2018 elections were the first to be held after the 2014 Ebola epidemic which killed nearly 4,000 people. Opposition parties criticized the outgoing government after some US$13.8 million worth of donor funds went missing. Separately, the APC pledged to continue developing the relationship with China, while the SLPP kept its distance from the largest investor to the country. |
Date of previous elections: 17 November 2012
Date of dissolution of the outgoing legislature: 7 December 2017
Timing of election:Upon normal expiry*
*Article 87 (1) of the Constitution stipulates "A general election of the Members of Parliament shall be held not earlier than thirty days and not later than ninety days after any dissolution of Parliament". The five-year term of the outgoing parliament, elected in November 2012, commenced December 2012.
Expected date of next elections: March - July 2023*
*Article 87 (1) of the Constitution stipulates "A general election of the Members of Parliament shall be held not earlier than thirty days and not later than ninety days after any dissolution of Parliament". The Parliament elected in March 2018 held its first session in April.
Number of seats at stake: 124 (full renewal)
Number of candidates: 795 (695 men, 100 women)
Percentage of women candidates: 12.6%
Number of parties contesting the election: 17
Number of parties winning seats: 4
Alternation of power: Yes
Number of parties in government: 1
Names of parties in government: Sierra Leone People's Party
Date of the first session of the new parliament: 25 April 2018
Name of the new Speaker: Mr. Abass Chernoh Bundu (Sierra Leone Peoples Party, SLPP) |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 7 March 2018 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
3'178'663
2'676'549 (84.2%)
|
|
Notes
|
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| Distribution of votes |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political group |
Candidates |
Votes |
|
|
% of votes |
|
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| All People's Congress (APC) |
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|
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| Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) |
|
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|
|
|
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| Coalition for Change (C4C) |
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|
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| National Grand Coalition (NGC) |
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|
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| Independents |
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| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total of seats
|
|
|
|
|
| All People's Congress (APC) |
68
|
|
|
|
|
| Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) |
49
|
|
|
|
|
| Coalition for Change (C4C) |
8
|
|
|
|
|
| National Grand Coalition (NGC) |
4
|
|
|
|
|
| Independents |
3
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
128
18
12.33%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
|
|
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| Distribution of seats according to profession |
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| Comments |
Note:
Of the 132 directly elected MPs 16 are women and of the 14 Paramount Chiefs, MPs, 2 are women.
Note on the statutory number of Parliament:
Article 38 (4) requires the Electoral commission to "review the division of Sierra Leone into constituencies at intervals of not less than five and not more than seven years". In 2017, Parliament approved the newly constituted constituencies, wards and districts to be used in the 2018 elections.
The number of single-member constituencies, i.e. the number of directly elected members increased from 112 to 132. In addition, there are 14 Paramount Chiefs representing each of the 14 districts (Karene and North West were added to the previous 12 districts). The statutory number of Parliament has thus increased from 124 to 146 starting with the 2018 elections.
Sources:
Parliament (02.05.2018, 04.05.2018)
http://www.parliament.gov.sl/dnn5/AboutUs/UnderstandingParliament.aspx
http://necsl.org/
http://necsl2018.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Election-Figures_1403.pdf
http://www.ifes.org/sites/default/files/2018_ifes_sierra_leone_general_elections_faqs_final.pdf
http://www.bbc.com/
https://uk.reuters.com
AFP
http://www.africanews.com/
https://www.premiumtimesng.com |
