By Nasratu Kargbo
In a bid to promote inclusivity in Sierra Leone, the Chairman of the National Council for Civic Education and Democracy (NaCCED) Kalilu Ibrahim Totangi has said breaking political party dominance in the country’s democratic system will go a long way in promoting inclusivity.
He made the statement on the 24th of June 2024 whilst giving an overview of the significance of the two-day citizens’ dialogue session on “Consolidating democracy by promoting inclusive participation”.
Totangi said the threshold for one to get a parliamentary seat being high, excludes the voices of many other citizens who voted for other candidates.
“The other voters do not have a voice because they have set a standard that is untenable, we have set the standard that deliberately takes away seven hundred thousand of our compatriots and not getting them represented, in my own opinion that it is not right,” he said.
He suggested it’d be better if the country practiced the same system as South Africa, a whole national proportional representation, noting that when a party gets 1. 32% of votes of the votes cast they will be represented in parliament, stressing it will be a way of breaking the dominance by certain political parties.
But he admitted it is difficult for such to happen here due to the system, stating that the country’s election operates on a district demarcation, which is largely influenced by ethnicity.
Totangi therefore noted that the dialogue is important, as it creates the platform to discuss ways how more people will be represented in parliament. He said a system that will create a way wherein a president is not only focused on their party or tribe that voted for them but with a responsibility to serve the whole country, stating that the president should be elected in a way that he needs everyone’s support for the country’s growth.
He said the masses should be in charge of reviewing election systems, discussing and providing recommendations instead of involving political parties whose sole interest is about winning elections.
The Chairman of International IDEA Dr. Mahmoud Tarawally spoke of democracy being measured in four aspects, highlighting representation, participation, citizens’ rights, and the rule of law. He said the dialogue is to discuss the way forward to have citizens’ voices heard, that they are represented, participate in democratic processes, and ensure their rights are protected despite their differences.
In his observation the citizens are not engaged in tribalism where they fight each other as a result of their tribe, and the country enjoys ethnic and cultural diversity and inter-religious marriage. He was quick to note that what is prevalent in Sierra Leone is ethnic politicization, noting that because the politicians have nothing much to say, they use tribes to gain the emotions of citizens.
He added that the country can become better and peaceful when its citizens are united.
Representative from the European Union Julius Foday assured the country that they will continue to support efforts geared towards human rights and democracy.
“Our core value is to promote, and protect all human rights issues and democracy across the globe. Democracy is intertwined with human rights, the absence of democratic space leads to an increase in the violation of fundamental rights”, Foday said.
Whilst delivering the keynote address, the Chief Electoral Commissioner Mohamed Konneh highlighted efforts made to ensure that a peaceful and inclusive election was conducted citing the Public Elections Act, and the GEWE Act that provided space for effective women's participation in the country's governance, amongst others.
The two-day session which ended on the 25th of June 2025 attracted citizens from various parts of the country.
The past fifth parliament was referred to as a hung parliament, which means no party had an absolute majority. It was also described as the most colorful, with four political parties in parliament. However this time due to the threshold in the 2023 election, the other smaller parties could not make it to parliament.
Copyright © 2024 Politico (01/07/24)
