By Claudia Redwood-Sawyerr
Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Alpha Sesay Esq., has said the Constitution of Sierra Leone (Amendment) Bill, 2025 represents a decisive shift in the country’s democratic journey, describing it as a transition from “a constitution of survival to a constitution of prosperity.”
Presenting a Ministerial Statement in the Well of Parliament on Tuesday, 28th July 2026, the Attorney General said the proposed constitutional reforms are designed to support President Julius Maada Bio’s vision of economic transformation by creating a stronger legal and governance framework capable of driving national development.
“Under the leadership of His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio, we have reached a new mandate, and that mandate is economic transformation. We are moving from a constitution of survival to a constitution of prosperity,” he declared.
Reflecting on Sierra Leone’s constitutional journey, the Minister explained that the 1991 Constitution was crafted at a critical moment in the country’s history to restore multiparty democracy and preserve national unity during a period of instability.
“It served its purpose. But a nation cannot forever be defined only by its ability not to fight. Stability, which the 1991 Constitution gave us, is the floor, it is not the ceiling,” he told Parliament.
He traced the origins of the constitutional review process to the 1999 Lomé Peace Agreement and the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, noting that successive administrations have advanced the process over the past two decades.
According to the Attorney General, the reforms are intended to provide Sierra Leone with a constitutional framework that supports democratic governance while creating conditions for sustainable economic growth.
“Strong economies are built on strong laws,” he stated. “Democratic governance is the engine, but economic empowerment is the destination. You cannot have one without the other.”
He further explained that while the current Bill focuses primarily on electoral reforms, it serves as the gateway to a broader constitutional package that will address economic rights, education, healthcare, citizenship, governance, and other key national priorities.
“The broader package is coming,” he assured Parliament. “I give this House and this Nation the full commitment of His Excellency the President that the passage of this Bill is not the end of the constitutional review process. It is a critical and time-sensitive component of it.”
The Attorney General said Government prioritised electoral reforms because international best practice requires electoral laws to be enacted well ahead of elections to ensure political parties, institutions and citizens have sufficient time to understand and implement the new framework.
“If we wait to pass electoral reforms until the entire constitutional package is finished, we risk arriving at that election with outdated rules that this House, the Tripartite process and the people of Sierra Leone have already agreed must change. That is a risk we are not prepared to take with our democracy,” he said.
Concluding his statement, AG urged Members of Parliament to support the Bill, emphasizing that its significance extends beyond politics.
“I urge every Honourable Member to vote yes, not for this Government, not for their party, but for the Sierra Leonean people who participated in this process, who waited for this moment, and who deserve a democracy worthy of their patience.”
