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All People’s Congress (APC) flagbearer aspirant Joseph Fitzgerald Kamara has argued that any amendment to Sierra Leone’s Constitution must be approved by at least two-thirds of the entire membership of Parliament, not merely two-thirds of lawmakers present during a vote.
Kamara made the argument in a legal commentary on the Constitution of Sierra Leone (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which is currently before Parliament.
He cited Section 108(2)(b) of the 1991 Constitution, which states that a constitutional amendment bill must receive, on its second and third readings, the votes of not less than two-thirds of Members of Parliament.
According to Kamara, the provision establishes a fixed constitutional threshold designed to ensure that constitutional changes receive broad parliamentary support.
He rejected the view that the requirement could be satisfied by calculating two-thirds only from the number of MPs present and voting at the time of the division.
Kamara warned that such an interpretation could allow a constitutional amendment to be passed without the level of support intended by the Constitution.
He said the requirement for constitutional amendments should be distinguished from ordinary parliamentary voting rules and quorum provisions, which determine whether Parliament is properly constituted to conduct business.
In his view, constitutional safeguards should not depend on attendance patterns or procedural convenience.
Kamara maintained that the two-thirds threshold must be applied in a manner that preserves the integrity of the Constitution and prevents amendments from being adopted through a lower numerical calculation.
His intervention adds to the growing legal and political debate over the procedure for adopting the proposed constitutional changes, particularly the question of how the required parliamentary majority should be determined.
The Constitution of Sierra Leone (Amendment) Bill, 2025 proposes changes to several aspects of the country’s constitutional and governance framework and is currently under consideration by Parliament.
