By Ragan M. Conteh

The Speaker of the Sierra Leone Parliament, Dr. Abass Chernor Bundu, has stated that there was a significant increase in the number of female MPs in Parliament.

The Speaker made the submission when delivering his keynote address at the post-election seminar with the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) on 30 January, 2024.

Speaker Bundu informed other participants that this is the result of the combined operation of the system of proportional representation and the Public Elections Act.

Today, he said, for directly electing female MPs, representation stands at 30.4% (41 out of 135 elected seats).

According to Dr. Bundu, the overall proportion of women MPs stands at 28.2% (42 out of a total of 149 seats; and 28.2% representation is well above the average in West Africa which stands at 18.4%.

The Speaker revealed that this is evident as increase in the number of seats for directly electing members is seen.

He stated that there are 135 parliamentary seats distributed through a District Block Proportional Representation (PR) system, with an additional 14 seats reserved for Paramount Chiefs, making a total conglomerate of 149 seats.

The Speaker maintained that the various legislations enacted ensure that significant progress was made to improve our electoral processes and ensure a transparent, democratic and inclusive political system