AYV News, October 6, 2025
Sierra Leone’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Alpha Sesay, has said dual citizens, widely known as 2-SIM, can now aspire to any position in the country, except the presidency.
He assured citizens abroad that Diaspora Voting Rights are part of ongoing constitutional reforms.
On his part, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Alhaji Timothy Musa Kabba, outlined the country’s rising global profile, citing its leadership roles at the UN Security Council, the African Union C-10, and ECOWAS.
He emphasised Sierra Leone’s foreign policy of mutual respect, non-exclusion, and expanding diplomatic presence in Sierra Leone and worldwide.
The term 2-SIM emerged before the 2018 elections when the ruling party attempted to enforce a 1991 Constitutional provision that bars dual citizens from holding public office. This was seen as an effort to target specific candidates, including popular opposition leader Kandeh Kolleh Yumkella, who was a dual citizen.
The controversy highlighted public division on whether dual citizens should be allowed to vote, though voting rights are more widely supported than the right to hold office.
There is no evidence from the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (EC-SL) or recent legislation banning dual citizens from voting.
