Info
Electoral Systems
ES001
Head of State
Question: How is the Head of State selected?
Answer(s):
a . Head of State is the Head of Government c . Directly elected in general elections (absolute majority with 2nd round if necessary)
Comments: There shall be a President of the Republic of Sierra Leone who shall be Head of State, the supreme executive authority of the Republic and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. No person shall be elected as President of Sierra Leone unless at the
Presidential election he has polled not less than fifty-five per cent of the valid votes in his favour; and in default of a candidate being duly elected under paragraph (e), the two
candidates with the highest number or numbers of votes shall go forward to a second election (...)
Source: Constitution (2008), art. 40 & 42: http://aceproject.org/ero-en/regions/africa/SL/sierra-leone-constitution-2008/
Verified: 2017/01/12
ES002
Head of Government
Question: How is the Head of Government selected?
Answer:
b . Directly elected in general elections, absolute majority (with 2nd round if necessary)
Comments: The president is both the head of state and the head of government. S/he is elected by receiving 55% of votes in the first round of elections, or if that is not attained, the two candidates with the highest numbers of votes from the first round go to the second round, in which the candidate who receives the highest number of votes is declared President.
Source: Constitution (2008), art. 40 & 42: http://aceproject.org/ero-en/regions/africa/SL/sierra-leone-constitution-2008/
Verified: 2017/01/12
ES003
President
Question: Does the country have a president?
Answer:
a . Yes
Comments: There shall be a President of the Republic of Sierra Leone who shall be Head of State, the supreme executive authority of the Republic and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. The President shall be the Fountain of Honour and Justice and the symbol of national unity and sovereignty.
Source: Constitution (2008), Art. 40 - 72: http://aceproject.org/ero-en/regions/africa/SL/sierra-leone-constitution-2008/
Verified: 2017/01/12
ES004
Number of Chambers
Question: The national legislature consists of (one/two chambers):
Answer:
a . One chamber
Comments: There shall be a legislature of Sierra Leone which shall be known as Parliament and shall consist of the President, the Speaker and members of Parliament. Parliament is made up of 12 Paramount Chiefs and 112 Ordinary Members of Parliament.
Source: - Constitution (2008), art. 73 & 74: http://aceproject.org/ero-en/regions/africa/SL/sierra-leone-constitution-2008/
- The Public Elections Act ( Abridged version, 2012): http://aceproject.org/ero-en/regions/africa/SL/sierra-leone-the-public-elections-act-2012/
Verified: 2017/01/12
ES005
Electoral System (Chamber 1)
Question: What is the electoral system for Chamber 1 of the national legislature?
Answer(s):
a . Plurality (FPTP)
Comments: 112 members of the Parliament are directly elected by plurality vote in single-member constituencies and the remaining 12 members are elected from among the persons who, under any law, are for the time being Paramount Chiefs.
Source: Constitution (2008), art. 38 & 74: http://aceproject.org/ero-en/regions/africa/SL/sierra-leone-constitution-2008/Constitution;
The Public Elections Act (2012), art. 58: http://aceproject.org/ero-en/regions/africa/SL/sierra-leone-the-public-elections-act-2012-1/;
Inter-Parliamentary Union: http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/2281.htm
Verified: 2017/01/12
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Additional, but potentially outdated material is available here.
