Post a comment 
The Campaign for Human Rights and Development International (CHRDI) has called on Sierra Leonean leaders to prioritise citizens over partisan interests as the country undertakes constitutional amendments and electoral reforms.
In a newly released policy brief titled “Democratisation in Sierra Leone: Challenges and Opportunities in Constitutional Review and Electoral Reform,” CHRDI reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring that the voices of all Sierra Leoneans are heard. The organisation urged leaders to protect citizens’ rights and interests, promote fair and representative electoral systems, and strengthen institutions to guarantee credible elections.
The policy brief examines Sierra Leone’s constitutional and electoral reform processes, questioning whether recent government-led reforms genuinely strengthen democracy or risk undermining it. CHRDI noted that while electoral reform is essential for improving transparency, accountability, and governance, it can also become a “trapdoor for democracy” if manipulated for political advantage.
CHRDI highlighted that the 1991 Constitution remains the foundation of Sierra Leone’s legal and political system, safeguarding fundamental rights, democratic principles, and the separation of powers. Ongoing constitutional reviews, initiated in 2021, and electoral reforms passed in 2022 were designed to address longstanding governance challenges, including executive power, judicial independence, and electoral credibility.
However, the organisation raised concerns about gaps in the proposed Constitution of Sierra Leone (Amendment) Act 2025. These include exclusion of persons with disabilities from the search and nomination committee, unrealistic timelines for election petitions, unclear criteria for independent presidential candidates, and proposals to deregister political parties that fail to win two consecutive national elections. CHRDI warned that such measures threaten multiparty democracy and could amount to dangerous manipulation of electoral outcomes.
The brief also reflects on the contested 2023 elections and the subsequent Agreement for National Unity (ANU), which helped ease political tensions, restore opposition participation in governance, and establish a Tripartite Committee to review electoral systems. While acknowledging positive elements of the proposed amendments, such as a 30 percent gender quota, clearer election schedules, limits on presidential powers, and the political neutrality of security forces, CHRDI cautioned against provisions that could concentrate power, weaken the separation of powers, and erode public trust.
CHRDI emphasised that credible elections are central to democratic consolidation, economic stability, and social cohesion. It warned that failure to implement meaningful reforms could worsen electoral vulnerabilities, undermine human rights, and damage Sierra Leone’s international standing.
As part of its policy recommendations, CHRDI called for extending the timeline for hearing and determining presidential election petitions, establishing a clear electoral dispute resolution mechanism, clarifying requirements for independent presidential candidates, ensuring inclusive representation-particularly for persons with disabilities-in nomination bodies, and reconsidering proposals to deregister political parties.
The organisation concluded that democracy can only thrive when elections are genuinely free, fair, and reflective of the popular will. CHRDI urged the government, political parties, electoral bodies, civil society, and the media to work collectively to ensure that constitutional and electoral reforms strengthen, rather than weaken, Sierra Leone’s democratic future.
