This week we sit down with IGR’s Data Manager, Gilbert Allieu, to discuss the recent creation of a digital election’s app known as Sense Bod. Sense Bod is an election’s app for smartphone users that provides a high-tech civic education platform that seeks to educate citizens on Sierra Leone’s electoral system, laws & regulations that govern the 2023 elections. In addition, the app also contains a number of documents such as political party manifestos, the Women’s Manifesto, the Citizen’s Manifesto and other key social demands made by a variety of actors across society. The app provides both textual answers as well as audio for citizens that are disabled or those that would rather listen to an explanation than read text. The objective of Sense Bod is to educate as many citizens as possible on the laws & regulations that govern the upcoming June 24 elections.

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Ahead of the 2023 elections, political parties and candidates are busy developing their party manifestos and plans on which they expect citizens to vote for them. On Tuesday, 23rd May 2023, the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party launched the People’s Manifesto in Kenema. It is expected that other political parties, including the opposition APC, will follow suit in the coming week.

Almost a month after the release of the BioMeter, a promise tracker developed by the Institute for Governance Reform (IGR), we speak with Hassan Kallon about political party manifestos generally and why they are important to the democratic process and why citizens should pay attention to them.

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This week we sit down with Mr. Kalilu Totangi from NaCCED (National Council for Civic Education and Democracy (NaCCED) to discuss youth and electoral ignorance in Sierra Leone. In particular, recent surveys from IGR have revealed a striking amount of ignorance regarding the PR system despite its recent adoption, a switch from first-past-the-post (FPTP). Youth make up approximately 50% of the population, and there are many new first-time voters in the upcoming elections. What is worrying is that there is a lot of ignorance and lack of understanding about the PR system (surveys estimate about 60% of society doesn’t understand the system, and could be as high as 80%), how it operates, how parties are prioritised over individuals, as well as how party candidates can win, or even lose seats. The potential for confusion, distrust in electoral management bodies (EMB), and even the legitimacy of results is a real challenge for not only national EMBs, but also society and cohesion in the upcoming elections. So, what is being done to address this ignorance? What strategies are NaCCED and others using to educate society, particularly the youth, on the PR system?

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