By Saidu Jalloh | D.S. Reporter
Speaker of Parliament Rt. Hon. Segepoh Solomon Thomas has urged lawmakers not to use the ongoing constitutional amendment process to weaken the presidency, arguing that the integrity of the office must be protected regardless of which party holds power.
Addressing Parliament on Tuesday, 5 August 2026 at Tower Hill, the Speaker said reforms should be guided by national interest, not partisan politics.
“The Office of the President should be a very powerful office in the Republic,” Thomas told MPs during debate on the Constitution of Sierra Leone (Amendment) Bill. “I will not sit here as Speaker and allow the position of the President to be watered down.”
He cautioned that political fortunes change, and any party could form the next government. In a direct reference to the All People’s Congress, Thomas said “the APC will certainly return to power,” while noting the Sierra Leone People’s Party could also find itself in opposition in future.
“I urge you to legislate with the thought that you may one day serve under a different administration,” he added.
The Bill, first gazetted in December 2025, is anchored on recommendations from the Tripartite Committee set up after the disputed 2023 elections, and the Constitutional Review Committee chaired by the late Justice Edmond Cowan.
Among the contentious proposals are: lowering the presidential election threshold from 55% to a simple majority with geographic spread, reconstituting the Electoral Commission through a Search and Nomination Committee, introducing a Proportional Representation system, and creating a 30% quota for women nominees.
With Parliament’s current composition of 81 SLPP, 54 APC and 14 Paramount Chief members, any amendment will require a two-thirds majority — about 99 votes — to pass.
The Speaker stressed that the goal of the reforms should be to strengthen democratic institutions for all future leaders, not to advantage any single political party.
His remarks were recorded in the official Hansard and corroborated by multiple media reports of the proceedings.
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