Sierra Leone Telegraph: 21 July 2025:
In a position paper dated 17th July 2025, National Election Watch – Sierra Leone, a coalition of civic and non-governmental organizations with representatives including Community-Based Organizations, Trade Unions, the Inter-Religious Council, professional bodies, and the media, communicated the outcome of the Civil Society Dialogue which was held on the 11th and 12th June 2025 on which electoral system is most preferred for the Sierra Leonean context.
Voting by civil society leaders showed huge support for the First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) electoral system at 57.9%, followed by proposals for a mixed method electoral system at 31.6% and Proportional Representation (PR) at 10.5%.
Speaking about the outcome of the dialogue, Lord Mayor of Freetown – Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr (Photo above), said: “The contents of this Position Paper resonate with me and other local councils that have experienced the negative impacts of the PR system on local governance and service delivery.
“As a result of the PR system used in the 2023 elections, there are several wards in Freetown that don’t have councillors, and at the same time, there are wards with multiple councillors, leading to confusion and coordination challenges.”
Among the justifications advanced by participants in the Civil Society Dialogue in favour of FPTP, were the following:
- It is easy to understand
- Citizens directly choose their representatives
- Results are verifiable by constituents
Given the lack of transparency experienced in respect of results tallying in the 2023 elections under the PR system, the preference for the FPTP electoral system expressed by civil society actors is loud and clear.
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