Political Divide Threatens National Unity & Stability

By: Christian Conteh

Sierra Leone’s political landscape has become increasingly volatile with deepening political antagonisms and significant challenges facing the country’s democratic culture. This is according to the Bertelsmann Stiftung’s Transformation Index (BTI) 2024 Country Report. The report evaluates the transformation toward democracy and market economy in 137 countries. Covering the period from February 1, 2021, to January 31, 2023

Political Landscape and Governance

The March 2018 presidential elections saw the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) narrowly win the presidency, while the All Peoples Congress (APC) secured a parliamentary majority. This led to a tense power struggle, with the SLPP, through violence-affected by-elections and contested judicial decisions, eventually seizing control from the APC. Upon taking office, the SLPP launched corruption investigations into the previous APC administration, resulting in indictments of several former high-ranking officials. The APC has questioned the constitutional validity of these investigations, alleging ethnic and partisan biases and accusing President Bio of judicial manipulation.

Following the 2023 elections, the political climate has further deteriorated, with inter-party cooperation a challenge and escalating political violence. The worsening living conditions have also ignited violent social protests, threatening the state’s fragile stability.

Reform Challenges and Corruption

President Bio’s administration, like its predecessors, vowed to intensify the fight against corruption. Despite these promises, corruption remains a significant barrier to development. Effective anti-corruption measures are crucial for implementing broader reforms, such as improving education and training, creating employment opportunities through microfinance initiatives, ensuring judicial accountability, implementing land reforms, and making efficient use of external support.

However, the implementation of these reforms has been challenging. Sierra Leone’s flawed democratic system, coupled with regional instability due to military coups in neighbouring countries and the threat of Islamic extremists, puts the nation’s underdeveloped democracy at risk. The report warns that marginalized and impoverished youth, lacking socioeconomic prospects, could become susceptible to extremist influences, potentially leading to severe social upheaval.

Need for Collaboration and International Support

The BTI report suggests that sustainable peace could be achieved if the SLPP and APC adopted a more collaborative approach and refrained from exploiting ethnic and regional differences for political gain. However, the confrontational nature of their relationship remains a significant threat to long-term stability.

International development partners are urged to support domestic reform efforts by setting realistic conditions for cooperation and providing incentives for comprehensive reform. This could strengthen reform-oriented domestic players and help stabilize the country.

Pressing Issues and Economic Vulnerabilities

As of early 2023, food security emerged as the most pressing issue, with citizens struggling to meet their basic needs. This has made other reform ambitions secondary. The report calls for international debtors to consider debt cancellation or relief to give the government much-needed fiscal space for emergency spending and long-term reforms.

Since the end of the civil war in 2002, Sierra Leone has struggled to diversify its economy, leaving it vulnerable to international market fluctuations and heavily reliant on foreign investments and donors. The BTI report concludes that the prospects for political and economic transformation in the near future remain poor, underscoring the urgent need for concerted efforts to address the country’s deep-rooted challenges.