{"id":56672,"date":"2026-04-21T14:28:48","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T14:28:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/all-news\/government-and-apc-plan-ecsl-restructuring-by-2026"},"modified":"2026-04-21T14:51:42","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T14:51:42","slug":"government-and-apc-plan-ecsl-restructuring-by-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/all-news\/government-and-apc-plan-ecsl-restructuring-by-2026","title":{"rendered":"Government And APC Plan ECSL Restructuring By 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Sierra-Leone. <\/strong><\/span>The main opposition All People\u2019s Congress (APC) has agreed to immediately end its months-long boycott of parliament and local councils after the government committed to restructuring the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL) by December 31, 2026, according to a joint statement issued by international mediators on April 20.<\/p>\n

The breakthrough came during a week-long assessment mission to Freetown by the International Moral Guarantors \u2014 comprising ECOWAS, UNOWAS, and the Commonwealth \u2014 who facilitated dialogue between the government and APC leadership from April 13-20, 2026.<\/p>\n

Under point VII of the agreement reached during the mediated talks, \u201cThe Parties commit to implement electoral reforms as contained in the Tripartite Committee Recommendations, in particular recommendation 36. The Parties commit to restructure the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL) within the framework and principles of the ANU not later than 31 December 2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

The statement further noted that \u201cwhere there is undue delay in implementing the reforms within the agreed timelines the parties and moral guarantors will reconvene to review the situation\u201d \u2014 a provision addressing APC concerns about government compliance.<\/p>\n

The APC launched its governance boycott in February 2026 following President Julius Maada Bio\u2019s appointment of Edmond Sylvester Alpha as Chief Electoral Commissioner. The party maintained that the appointment violated the 2023 Agreement for National Unity (ANU) and specifically Recommendation 36 of the Tripartite Committee report, which calls for amending Sections 32 and 34 of the Constitution to establish an independent search and nomination committee for ECSL appointments.<\/p>\n

The political deadlock originated from the disputed 2023 general elections, which led to the signing of the Agreement for National Unity between the government and APC in October 2023. A Tripartite Committee subsequently issued 80 recommendations for electoral, institutional, and legal reforms in June 2024.<\/p>\n

APC leaders had characterized the Alpha appointment as a \u201cdirect violation\u201d of these commitments. At an April 13 meeting with the Moral Guarantors, APC National Secretary General Lansana Dumbuya reportedly warned that \u201cthis is the last window for credible action,\u201d asserting that the ANU process had \u201ccollapsed\u201d in substance.<\/p>\n

The boycott significantly disrupted legislative business, with Speaker of Parliament Segepoh Solomon Thomas holding emergency talks with opposition leaders in late March in an attempt to restore parliamentary stability.<\/p>\n

Beyond ECSL restructuring, the agreement includes:<\/p>\n

Urgent constitution of a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Electoral Matters to oversee electoral preparedness ahead of 2028<\/p>\n

Expansion of the Tripartite Steering Committee to include broader political and civil society representation<\/p>\n

Formation of a legal experts team on constitutional and legislative reforms with APC representation<\/p>\n

The International Moral Guarantors welcomed the commitments while urging \u201call political leaders, political parties\u2019 executives, supporters, and all citizens to exercise restraint and refrain from the use and\/or propagation of hate speech\u201d to de-escalate current political tensions.<\/p>\n

The APC\u2019s return to governance is expected to clear the way for parliamentary action on pending constitutional amendments, including The Constitution of Sierra Leone (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which addresses electoral system reforms ahead of the 2028 general elections.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Sierra-Leone<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Sierra-Leone. The main opposition All People\u2019s Congress (APC) has agreed to immediately end its months-long boycott of parliament and local councils after the government committed to restructuring the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL) by December 31, 2026, according to a joint statement issued by international mediators on April 20. The breakthrough came […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":56671,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[292],"class_list":["post-56672","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-sierra-leone"],"yoast_head":"\nGovernment And APC Plan ECSL Restructuring By 2026 - Sierra Leone<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The main opposition All People\u2019s Congress (APC) has agreed to immediately end its months-long boycott of parliament and ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/all-news\/government-and-apc-plan-ecsl-restructuring-by-2026\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Government And APC Plan ECSL Restructuring By 2026\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The main opposition All People\u2019s Congress (APC) has agreed to immediately end its months-long boycott of parliament and ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/all-news\/government-and-apc-plan-ecsl-restructuring-by-2026\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sierra Leone\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-21T14:28:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-21T14:51:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/sites\/16\/2026\/04\/sm_1776770376.307001.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/all-news\/government-and-apc-plan-ecsl-restructuring-by-2026#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/all-news\/government-and-apc-plan-ecsl-restructuring-by-2026\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Government And APC Plan ECSL Restructuring By 2026\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-21T14:28:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-21T14:51:42+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/all-news\/government-and-apc-plan-ecsl-restructuring-by-2026\"},\"wordCount\":495,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/all-news\/government-and-apc-plan-ecsl-restructuring-by-2026#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/sites\/16\/2026\/04\/sm_1776770376.307001.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Sierra-Leone\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/all-news\/government-and-apc-plan-ecsl-restructuring-by-2026#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/all-news\/government-and-apc-plan-ecsl-restructuring-by-2026\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/all-news\/government-and-apc-plan-ecsl-restructuring-by-2026\",\"name\":\"Government And APC Plan ECSL Restructuring By 2026 - 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