APC Official Raises Fresh Questions Over Census Support as December Exercise Approaches
An All People’s Congress (APC) official has questioned Sierra Leone’s decision to proceed with the 2026 census amid concerns over international support and objections raised by political stakeholders.
Minkailu Koroma, a senior APC member, made the remarks during AYV’s Wake Up Sierra Leone programme, where he questioned the government’s decision to continue preparations despite what he described as the withdrawal of European Union technical and financial assistance.
Koroma said the reported change in external support should be considered alongside concerns raised by the opposition and other stakeholders about the census process.
However, available official records confirm that the census continues to receive international technical and financial backing from several development partners.
The United Nations Population Fund said in September that it was providing technical leadership for the census, while financial support was coming from the governments of Iceland and Ireland and the British High Commission through the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.
Statistics Sierra Leone has also reported continued engagement with political parties and other stakeholders. Its recent Census Advisory Committee meeting included representatives from both the APC and the governing Sierra Leone People’s Party, according to the agency.
The census is scheduled for Dec. 2-16 and will use digital data collection, with officials saying preparations include mapping, training, quality-control measures and the deployment of tablets.
The government previously said it had committed more than $20 million to the census preparations and estimated that an additional $10 million would be needed to complete the process.
The latest developments come as Statistics Sierra Leone moves toward the final stages of preparations, including the rollout of equipment and training ahead of the nationwide enumeration.
Koroma’s comments therefore add to the political debate over the census, but his claim about the withdrawal of EU support could not be independently confirmed from the official census and UNFPA sources reviewed for this report.