APC members of parliament walk out of parliament over constitutional amendment vote

Sierra Leone Telegraph: 10 August 2026:

No one said that today, 10^th August 2026, was going to be a normal day for the people of Sierra Leone, as members of parliament met to discuss and vote on whether to accept the government’s proposed Constitution Amendment Bill 2025.

There was going to be lots of drama, starting this morning when the APC MP – Abdul Kargbo who sits in parliament as the Leader of the Minority Parties, sounded an alarm on social media, that the police were preventing executive members of his APC party from entering parliament.

“I have informed the police officers preventing our party executives from entering the Well of Parliament, while allowing SLPP executives access, that if our stakeholders are denied entry, not a single opposition MP will enter the Well.”

That alarm had set the scene for what was to come in parliament, as both the ruling SLPP – determined to get its Constitution Amendment Bill across the line by any means necessary, and the opposition APC relying on the 1991 constitution requirement for a two-thirds majority vote before the Bill can go through.

By 12pm the atmosphere inside parliament was already tense, as the people of Sierra Leone braced themselves for the historical vote on the government’s proposed constitutional amendments. This was an historical moment.

As the Speaker of Parliament – Segepoh Solomon Thomas walked into the Chamber to take his seat, the opposition APC chairs were conspicuously empty.

The puzzled looking Speaker of the House, immediately enquired about the whereabouts of the APC Members, and then requested that the Leader of Government Business, contact the APC Leader in parliament to find out why they were absent, as MPs were about to start voting on the proposed constitutional amendments.

Meanwhile, the noise and tension in the public gallery were becoming a matter of concern to the Speaker, who was looking quite restless. He then demanded that the public gallery be cleared for security reasons, except for a handful of senior members of both SLPP and APC.

But the question on the minds of everyone watching the drama unfold live, was whether the APC members of parliament will enter the Chamber. And they did. But no one would have guessed what was to come next.

Sooner the debate had started, there was a call to order from the opposition APC, who insisted that any vote to accept the proposed amendments must be done by a two-thirds majority in accordance with Section 108 of the 1991 constitution. Members of the ruling SLPP disagreed.

The Speaker decided to make a ruling on the matter. And his ruling triggered a huge reaction from the opposition APC members of parliament.

According to the Speaker, Section 108 does not apply to voting on a proposed Bill, but the Constitution itself. And since the debate and voting were about individual clauses of the proposed Bill – not the 1991 constitution, only a simple majority was required.

Photo: Constitution amendment votes requirement

The opposition APC felt they were being trapped. Their leader – Abdul Kargbo MP, then stood up: “Mr. Speaker, I respect your office, but we on this side will not be part of an agreement that does not reflect the will of the majority. Posterity will judge us. On that note, I kindly ask my colleagues – the All Peoples Congress Party, to leave the Well.”

”96 honourable members of parliament are seeking to amend a document that is to be amended by 100 members of parliament. So, we on this side cannot be a party to that,” Abdul Kargbo, Opposition Leader in Parliament, said.

Photo: APC MPs walking out of parliament

Sierra Leone’s constitutional amendment process has taken a dramatic turn. It is now understood that the opposition APC will be going to the Supreme Court for a judicial review of Section 108 of the 1991 Constitution, before its members can return to parliament.

But not all opposition APC members of parliament walked out today. Mohamed Bangura and Alfred Ayodele Thompson (Photo below) were the only two MPs that did not join their fellow APC Members in walking out of Parliament. This did not come as a shock, as both have on several occasions refused to tow the APC party line in parliament.

Photo below: Section 108 of  Sierra Leone’s 1991 constitution that has caused so much drama and now requires the Supreme Court to interpret.

Commenting on today’s drama in parliament, Mayor of Freetown – Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, who is also one of the aspiring presidential candidates of the APC, said:  – “Sad day for democracy in Sierra Leone. APC MPs have said they will not be party to the violation of the two-thirds vote for constitutional amendments required by Section 108. They have rightly exited the well of Parliament.”

Today was never going to be a walk-over for the government in parliament. And the opposition APC, instead walked out on the constitution amendment process, heading to the Supreme Court.