Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio said he will introduce a bill that would permit Lawmakers in the West African country to hold a foreign passport.
In a statement, Bio said he had authorised the attorney general to introduce a proposed constitutional amendment to allow dual citizens to be qualified to be elected as members of parliament.
The move comes after years of legal ambiguity in Sierra Leone over the right of dual citizens to run for office, with political parties forbidding candidates with foreign passports.
However, the Supreme Court ruled in September that dual citizens are allowed to run for parliament, after a suit brought by lawmaker Kandeh Yumkella.
Bio’s government is now set to propose a constitutional amendment to clarify that right although it is not clear when the bill will be introduced.
Alie Turay, a Sierra Leonean national who lives in the US told Newsmen that the News was a welcome development for Sierra Leoneans in the diaspora with dual citizenship, who wish to participate in the country’s politics in future.
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