| Parliament name |
Parliament |
| Structure of parliament |
Unicameral |
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
11 August 2007 |
| Timing and scope of renewal |
Elections were held for all seats in Parliament following its dissolution on 25 June 2007. General elections had previously held on 14 May 2002. |
Parliamentary elections, which were originally scheduled for 28 July 2007, were postponed to 11 August due to logistical problems. The 2007 elections, which were held in parallel with presidential elections, were the first since United Nations peacekeepers (UNAMSIL) left the country in December 2005. They were deemed as a test of the country's recovery from a civil war that lasted from 1991 to 2002, in which some 120,000 people were reportedly killed. Sierra Leone is ranked the second poorest country in the world, despite its vast reserves of minerals, including diamonds.
In the last elections held in May 2002, five months after the official end of the civil war, the proportional representation system was applied as a temporary measure following massive population displacement, which had made a constituency-based electoral system impractical. The ruling Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) of President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah took 83 of the 112 directly elected seats, while the main opposition party All People's Congress (APC) took 27. The remainder went to a small party, the Peace and Liberation Party (PLP). The former rebel group, the Revolutionary United Front Party (RUFP), failed to win a seat.
Under the SLPP-led government, the country has made significant progress in consolidating peace and rebuilding basic government institutions. However, it came under severe criticism from international donors such as Britain, over widespread corruption and economic mismanagement.
In the 2007 elections, the first-past-the-post system was re-established. By the official deadline for voters' registration of 18 Mach 2007, over 2.6 million citizens had registered, representing 91 per cent of the estimated eligible population of 2,873,000.
In all, 566 candidates from seven political parties contested the 2007 elections. However, only three of them were deemed to have any reasonable chance of entering parliament: the ruling SLPP, the main opposition APC, and the People's Movement for Democratic Change (PMDC). The PMDC is a breakaway party from the SLPP, which was formed in January 2006. Outgoing President Tejan Kabbah was constitutionally barred from running for the presidential elections, having served the maximum two terms as president.
The SLPP, which has its stronghold in the south and east of the country, endorsed outgoing Vice President Mr. Solomon Berewa as its presidential candidate. The APC, which has support in the north of the country, was led by Mr. Ernest Bai Koroma, who was considered to be Mr. Berewa's main rival in the presidential race. The PMDC was led by Mr. Charles Margai, a former SLPP member and son of former prime minister Albert Margai.
The manifestos of the three parties focused on child protection, women's empowerment, youth unemployment and measures to combat corruption. They pledged to improve the situation of children in Sierra Leone by establishing a better education system and promoting child protection. The SLPP also promised women economic empowerment, while the APC platform supported women's involvement in policy making. Both parties also emphasized the need for better occupational training and youth employment. The SLPP pledged to step up efforts to fight corruption, including by investing the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) with greater powers. The APC also promised to give the ACC the power to prosecute.
Turnout was recorded at 75.8 per cent. Some polling stations opened late and many people had to wait in long lines in the rain to cast their ballots. Armed police were deployed in parts of the capital, Freetown, after youths tried to disrupt vote counting.
In all, over 350 international observers monitored the poll. The observers from the European Union, the Commonwealth and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) said the voting was generally free and transparent and that the poll had met international standards.
The main opposition APC won 59 of the 112 seats. The ruling SLPP took only 43 seats, down from 83. The PMDC won the remaining 10 seats. In all, 16 women were elected.
In the presidential elections, no candidate won the required 55 per cent of votes in the first round. On 8 September, run-offs were held between Mr. Koroma (APC), who had received 44 per cent of the votes, and the outgoing Vice President Berewa (SLPP), who had obtained 38 per cent. The PMDC supported Mr. Koroma in the run-offs. On 17 September, Mr. Koroma (APC) was declared elected, winning 54 per cent of the valid votes.
On 25 September, the newly elected members of parliament were sworn in together with 12 Paramount Chiefs (influential regional rulers, whose seats in Parliament are provided for by the Electoral Law), and elected an Appellate Court Judge, Mr. Abel Nathaniel Stronge, as its new Speaker.
The official opening of parliament coincided with President Koroma's swearing in on 5 October. On 13 October, he named a new 20-member cabinet that included three women. It comprised APC members and technocrats. Although the cabinet did not have an SLPP component, four members representing its traditional stronghold (southern Sierra Leone) went on to become ministers. |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 11 August 2007 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
1'984'106 (75.8%)
144'898
1'839'208 |
|
Notes
|
|
| Distribution of votes |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political group |
Candidates |
Votes |
|
|
% of votes |
|
|
| All People's Congress (APC) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| People's Movement for Democratic Change (PMDC) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total of seats
|
|
|
|
|
| All People's Congress (APC) |
59
|
|
|
|
|
| Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) |
43
|
|
|
|
|
| People's Movement for Democratic Change (PMDC) |
10
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
108
16
12.90%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
|
| Comments |
Sources:
- http://www.necsierraleone.org
- Parliament (01.01.2008, 29.01.2012) |
|
