Who runs local government in Sierra Leone?
Sierra Leone has 22 elected local councils (six city councils, one municipal council and 15 district councils), whose mayors and chairpersons are directly elected. Beneath them, the country is divided into 190 chiefdoms, each led by a paramount chief who is elected for life from recognised ruling families. Chieftaincy is protected by the constitution, and 14 paramount chiefs, one for each district in the provinces, sit as members of Parliament.
Republic of Sierra Leone · Unitary presidential republic · Western Africa
The levels of government below the nation
| Level | How it is chosen | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Provinces (4) and the Western Area | Resident ministers appointed by the president | State administration; not local governments. |
| Local councils (22: 6 city councils, 1 municipal council, 15 district councils) | Councillors elected (by proportional representation since 2023); mayors and chairpersons directly elected; paramount chief councillors also sit on councils | Main local government: devolved functions such as primary health, primary schools, local roads, waste; property rates and local taxes (Local Government Act 2022, which replaced the 2004 Act). |
| Chiefdoms (190 since 2017) | Paramount chief elected for life by the Chiefdom Council (tribal authority) from candidates of recognised ruling houses | Customary administration, chiefdom police, customary land and local order; chiefdoms are subordinate to local councils. |
| Wards (446 in 2017) and sections/villages | Ward committees include the councillor, the paramount chief and up to ten residents chosen at a public meeting; section and town chiefs chosen locally | Community planning and self-help; local liaison. |
Three questions about local power in Sierra Leone
Are local leaders elected?
Councillors, mayors and chairpersons are elected by voters. Paramount chiefs are elected for life by a limited college of chiefdom councillors, and only ruling-house members can stand. Fourteen paramount chiefs are elected by their peers to Parliament.
Which laws set up local government?
Local councils are set out in the Local Government Act 2022; chieftaincy is in the constitution and the Chieftaincy Act 2009. Secret societies and much land custom work by custom.
Who are local leaders accountable to?
Voters for councils; the Ministry of Local Government oversees councils. Paramount chiefs answer to custom and can be removed by the president after a judicial inquiry.
Traditional and customary authority
Section 72 of the constitution guarantees the chieftaincy established by customary law and says the office of paramount chief cannot be abolished except by a special Act of Parliament. A paramount chief may be removed by the president only after a public inquiry, led by a judge, finds against them. Paramount chiefs must come from ruling houses and are elected for life by an electoral college of chiefdom councillors under the Chieftaincy Act 2009. They oversee chiefdom administration and customary matters and, traditionally, customary land. The Customary Land Rights Act 2022 changed how customary land is held, giving more protection to family and individual rights and limiting chiefs' control. Secret societies (Poro and Sande/Bondo) remain influential in many areas.
Community and neighbourhood power
Ward committees are the official link between residents and councils, and must include at least five women. Section chiefs, town chiefs and community youth and women's groups organise communal labour and local projects.
Points to know
- Paramount chiefs are formal and elected, but by a small electoral college and only from ruling houses, so they are neither hereditary in the simple sense nor democratically elected by all voters.
- Sierra Leone's Parliament had 149 members after 2023: 135 elected by proportional representation and 14 paramount chief MPs.
- Local councils were abolished in 1972 and only restored in 2004 after the civil war, as part of rebuilding the state.
- The number of chiefdoms rose from 149 to 190 in 2017 when several were split back to their older units.
- Each local council includes paramount chief councillors selected by the chiefs of the district.
Local terms
- Paramount chief
- The head of a chiefdom, elected for life from ruling houses.
- Ruling house
- A family recognised as eligible to provide a chiefdom's paramount chief.
- Chiefdom council
- Also called the tribal authority: chiefdom councillors who elect the paramount chief.
Sources
- Constitution of Sierra Leone 1991 (rev. 2013), Constitute Project, checked 14 October 2026
- The Local Government System in Sierra Leone: Country Profile 2019, Commonwealth Local Government Forum, checked 14 October 2026
- Sierra Leone: country profile (subnational government structure and finance, 2022 edition), OECD–UCLG World Observatory on Subnational Government Finance and Investment (SNG-WOFI), checked 14 October 2026
- Customary Land Rights Act, 2022, SierraLII (Sierra Leone Legal Information Institute), checked 14 October 2026
See also: Sierra Leone's official statistics and leaders · the 10 levels of power.