Alpha Sesay, Attorney General and Minister of Justice, met a delegation of International Moral Guarantors to discuss progress on Sierra Leone’s electoral reform agenda and the implementation of the Agreement for National Unity. The April 14, 2026 meeting brought together international figures charged with monitoring the country’s political reconciliation and electoral readiness in advance of upcoming national milestones.
The visiting delegation, led by former Gambian Vice President Her Excellency Fatoumata Jallow Tambajang, included the Deputy UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) for West Africa and the Sahel, the UN Resident Coordinator in Sierra Leone, and ECOWAS and Commonwealth representatives. Former Vice President Tambajang spoke on behalf of the group, describing their mission as an assessment of progress in implementing the Agreement for National Unity, with a focus on the Tripartite Committee’s recommendations and actions arising from the Agreement’s Resolution 3.
Attorney General Sesay described significant steps his office has taken in support of the Agreement’s resolutions. He stated that his ministry is primarily responsible for implementing Resolution 4, which addresses the review and rationalisation of politically motivated cases as well as the legislative reforms recommended by the Tripartite process. He stated that work is being done to align legal and institutional arrangements with those recommendations, and that several Tripartite proposals are being funnelled into a broader constitutional review.
According to Sesay, the government has accepted many of the Tripartite recommendations as part of a coordinated effort to strengthen Sierra Leone’s constitutional framework. He traced the country’s constitutional reform trajectory back to the Lomé Peace Agreement and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s findings, which informed earlier review efforts such as the Peter Tucker Constitutional Review Committee and the Justice Edmond Cowan-led 80-member Constitutional Review Committee (2013-2017), which was convened under former President Ernest Bai Koroma.
In accordance with Sierra Leone’s obligations under ECOWAS and related international protocols, the Attorney General stated that a bill to amend the Constitution to accommodate electoral reforms has been introduced in Parliament. He emphasised the government’s goal of completing legislative reforms well before the 2028 general elections, citing the Justice Cowan Committee’s work and Tripartite Committee recommendations as important sources.
On the contentious issue of the Chief Electoral Commissioner’s appointment, Sesay argued that the President’s actions were within constitutional bounds. He reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to advancing electoral and constitutional reforms that benefit the nation. “Democracy is not a destination, but a continuous act of collective will and refinement,” he stated, emphasising the ongoing nature of reform and the government’s willingness to work with domestic and international stakeholders to protect electoral integrity.
