Bridging Knowledge & Policy

Sense Bod and the 2023 Elections

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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The Importance of Political Party Manifestos

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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A Race against the Clock: Addressing Electoral Ignorance amongst the Youth

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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The BioMeter and the 2023 Elections

This week we continue our prior week’s discussion with Charlie Hughes to discuss the BioMeter (BM). The BM is an initiative funded by the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) to evaluate the campaign promises of President Bio that were made in 2018. All in all, President Bio made a staggering 536 promises in the Sierra Leone People’s Party “New Direction” Manifesto. So IGR has tracked and evaluated all 536 promises to ask, “did we (Sierra Leone) get what we voted for”? Charlie breaks down the BM to give us context and analysis on not only the 2018 promises, but also what this means for Bio’s 2023 campaign and chance for re-election.
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The Citizen’s Manifesto and Citizens’ Commitments

This week we continue last week’s discussion with IGR’s Governance Officer, Emmanuella Sandy, to further build on our previous episode that discussed the demands of citizens as it relates to citizen policy priorities within the context of the Citizen’s Manifesto (CM). The CM was first introduced in 2018 as a way to identify citizen policy priorities and the desires of citizens that should be taken on board by political parties. However, it was recognized within the context of the 2018 CM that it takes both the state and citizens to co-create solutions to what society is seeking. In this week we discuss what are the commitments of citizens in Sierra Leone. How many commitments are there, and what do they look like, especially at the district level? Citizens themselves have agency and have a key role to play in the development of Sierra Leone. The objective of the CM is to shape party priorities and manifestos going forward.
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The Citizen’s Manifesto and Citizens’ Demands

This week we sit down with IGR’s Governance Officer, Emmanuella Sandy, to further build on our previous episode that discussed the second iteration of the Citizen’s Manifesto (CM). The CM was first introduced in 2018 as a way to identify citizen policy priorities and the desires of citizens that should be taken on board by political parties. In this week we discuss what are the demands of citizens in Sierra Leone. How many demands are there, and what do they look like? There are not only demands at the national level, but also at each district level. The objective of the CM is to shape party priorities and manifestos going forward.
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The Citizen’s Manifesto and the 2023 Elections

This week we sit down with IGR’s Executive Director, Andrew Lavali, to discuss the second iteration of the Citizen’s Manifesto (CM). The CM was first introduced in 2018 as a way to identify citizen policy priorities and the desires of citizens that should be taken on board by political parties. Now in 2023, the CM is back, but this new iteration now looks at not only national policy priorities, but also the variation of district and local priorities across the country. The objective of the CM is to shape party priorities and manifestos going forward.
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The Importance of Electoral Justice and Elections

IGR speaks with Executive Director, Ibrahim Tommy, of the Center for Accountability and Rule of Law (CARL) on the often overlooked issue of electoral justice and its relationship to elections and democracy. Mr. Tommy unpacks the complex nature of electoral justice and how it transcends both formal and informal aspects of electoral politics to demonstrate that how electoral justice is carried out is as just as important as being able to access the judiciary in a speedy, transparent, and satisfactory manner. Furthermore, citizens must have trust with the justice system and electoral institutions or else the propensity for tensions and violence are more likely to arise.
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