Parliament of Sierra Leone
| Parliament of Sierra Leone | |
|---|---|
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| Type | |
| Type | |
| Leadership | |
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Speaker of Parliament
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Majority Leader
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Minority Leader
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| Structure | |
| Seats | 124 |
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Political groups
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| Elections | |
| First-past-the-post | |
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Last election
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17 November 2012 |
| Meeting place | |
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| House of Parliament, Tower Hill, Freetown | |
| Website | |
| http://www.parliament.gov.sl/ | |
Parliament of Sierra Leone is the legislative branch of the government of Sierra Leone. It is principally responsible for making laws. The Sierra Leone parliament consists of 124 members, of which 112 members are directly elected from across Sierra Leone's 14 Districts. The Parliament is led by the Speaker. The current speaker of Parliament is Sheku Badara Bashiru Dumbuya (APC). The current elected members of parliament are entirely composed of members of the All People's Congress and the Sierra Leone People's Party, the two largest political parties in Sierra Leone.
The Sierra Leone Parliament, like its counterparts in other former British colonies, began as a Legislative Council. It was inaugurated in 1863, but was renamed the House of Representatives in 1954. The first decade of Independence (1961 – 1971), often referred to as the golden age, was a momentous period in the country’s Parliamentary evolution. When the British crown took management of the colony in 1808, no African was represented in the colony’s administration; the governor, with a few white officials ruled the colony by a body known as the Governor’s Advisory Council.
By the mid nineteenth century, the Creoles were determined to have a say in government. A Committee of Correspondence, constituting a group of Creole businessmen was formed in 1853, and was later replaced by the Mercantile Association in 1858 with the primary objective of securing the right of political representation for Colony citizens. Petitions and newspapers to the Secretary of State for Colonies served as pressure, calling for a new constitution and an elected assembly for Sierra Leone. In the 1863 Constitution, the legislature was reorganized and inaugurated but with no provision made for popular representation.
The current Sierra Leone Parliament owes its origin to colonial constitutional developments dating as far back as to 1863 when attempts were made by the British colonial authorities to put in place Legislative and Executive Councils. However, these two councils were established; the executive and the legislative councils. The Executive Council constituted the following: the Governor, the Chief Justice, Queen’s Advocate (Attorney-General), Colony Secretary and the Officer Commanding Troops. These were known as the Official Members. The unofficial members were known as Charles Heddle, a European African and John Ezzidio a Sierra Leonean. Both the official and unofficial members constituted the Legislative Council which was responsible for enacting Laws for the colony. But too much of executive powers were vested in the Governor. Due to riots and strikes by railway workers more anti-colonial pressure was mounted, which led to the formation of the National Congress for West Africa in 1920 with men like F.W Dove, a business man and H.C Bankole Bright, a Medical Doctor. This congress demanded the following: a party elected legislative council in each colony – this however met with failure even when the delegation was sent to London to press for action. The protectorate by then was legally regarded as a foreign country. This historic process was ongoing when the governor came into the scene by the name of Sir Ransford Slater. He was prepared to concede to the demand for popular representation but to him it was absurd to have a legislator for both colony and protectorate. To satisfy their demands, Governor Slater planned a new constitution in 1924 which conceded the elective principles for colony, with some protectorate representation by chiefs. Under the tribal system no other would have adequate title to speak with authority. Membership of the legislature was increased to 21 with 3 (three) paramount chiefs. From the 21 Members, 11 were appointed by the Government added to 10 unofficial Members. Out of the 10 unofficial Members, were 5 Colony Representatives elected from among the educated Creole elites and the 3 Paramount Chiefs from the Protectorate nominated by the Governor. This registered a significant development for African representation in the Legislative Assembly. In 1951 further constitutional development was made by Governor Beresford Stoke, which increased the Paramount Chiefs representation in the Legislative assembly to 12, one, for each district, a practice that prevails today.
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