Clerk of Parliament Cancels Consultative Meeting with Tripartite Committee …Set to Discuss Recommendations 78

By Desmond Issac Macauley
The Office of the Clerk of Parliament has abruptly announced the cancellation of a highly anticipated consultative engagement with the Tripartite Committee, which was scheduled for Wednesday, 29th October 2025. The consultative engagement which was planned for 10:00am in Committee Room No. 1 at the Parliament Building, was expected to discuss on Tripartite Recommendations 78, a key element of the Agreement for National Unity.
“The Office of the Clerk of Parliament wishes to inform Hon. Members of Parliament and the General Public that the consultative engagement scheduled for today, Wednesday 29/10/2025, in Committee Room One, Parliament Building, with the Tripartite Committee relating to its 78 Recommendations, has been cancelled instant, until further notice,” the Clerk stated.
The proposed meeting was cancelled on the very day for the meeting urging MPs to accommodate any inconvenience caused without any explanation for the sudden change of plans.
The Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Alpha Sesay, was set to formally present the recommendations to Parliament, marking the start of crucial pre legislative discussions, the proposals are seen as instrumental in shaping the country’s political and electoral reforms leading up to the 2028 general elections.
Recommendation 78 states as follows:
There should be a national dialogue on the choice of electoral system to be adopted for Parliament and local councils between the district proportional representation system and the First Past the Post system.
Whichever electoral system is adopted should ensure that a minimum 30% female representation is maintained at all levels, consistent with the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Act.
In advance of each general election the Electoral Commission must make a regulation that sets out how the GEWE quota and any other similar measure (such as for youth, People With Disabilities) are to be managed in the voting system to be used at that election.
The unexpected cancellation, announced just hours before the scheduled meeting, has sparked speculations and concerns among political observers. Many are now questioning what prompted the decision and what it could mean for the future of Sierra Leone’s reform process.