Sierra Leone - Politics
People sometimes even say even it a candidate is a chimpanzee, it will be voted for as long as it is their party’s choice. At independence the largely illiterate population had little understanding of the various institutions of representative government that replaced or were grafted to their traditional system by the British. As a result, the government was manipulated by a westernized minority for its own ends, while the needs of the majority rural population were given only lip Service.
A large portion of the population is scattered in rural areas of the country away from the main urban centers. Over 80% of the population was illiterate in the 1990s. This fact severely limited the use of print and written materials as a means of distributing election information, except to the degree that graphic visuals and illustrations can be exploited to convey meaningful information.
Sierra Leone is growing into a vibrant democratic society, increasing its stature as a key player in international peace-keeping operations. However, a lack of depth in transparent and participatory governance and the rule of law, and the negative impact of corruption and unclear roles and responsibilities in local governance remain key impediments to rebuilding democracy. The country made gains in the democratic and development processes since the end of the brutal civil war in 2002. This is evidenced by a peaceful transition from one democratically elected government to another in 2007.
Post-independence politics polarized the country between two divides: the dominant ethnic group in the north (Temne) rallied around all other northern tribes and formed the All People’s Congress Party (APC) which strongly challenged the then incumbent south-eastern party; the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) spear-headed by their own dominant tribe (Mende), in general elections in 1967 and won. The Head of the Army (Brigadier David Lansana) who hailed from the Mende Tribe staged a coup d’état on 21 March 1967, the very day the Prime Minister (PM) Siaka Stevens was sworn into office, to prevent the north from assuming power.
The civil war in Sierra Leone began in 1991 when the RUF led a guerrilla campaign to end the 23-year one-party rule by the All People's Congress (APC). Despite conflict between the RUF and the RSLMF, it has been alleged that RUF rebels and discontented army soldiers collaborated to overthrow the APC government in 1992. The APC was subsequently ousted from power by officers of the RSLMF. The reluctance of the new ruling government, the National Provisional Ruling Council (NPRC), to negotiate with the RUF led to an intensification of the rebel campaign and an increase in the spread of the conflict.
The NPRC was also ousted by military officers in January 1996, and presidential and legislative elections were scheduled. In March 1996, the SLPP came to power as a result of the democratic elections. In May 1997, forces of the RUF and the RSLMF joined together under the umbrella of the AFRC, led by Major Johnny Paul Koroma, to overthrow the SLPP government. However, the SLPP government was restored to power in 1998 by West African troops, and the AFRC members involved in the coup were pardoned for their actions.
Sierra Leone is a multi-ethnic composite of peoples who have generally demonstrated a large degree of ethnic tolerance; the country has not experienced inter-ethnic tension or violence in its recent history. Nonetheless, the ethnic political factor is not irrelevant; in the past, certain political parties have had special ties to particular ethnic groups. It is for this reason that the 1991 constitution stipulates, in chapter IV, subsection 35, that any political party which has any type of ethnic affiliation and which does not have an organizational structure in every region of the country will not be allowed to officially register. While ethnicity appears to many Sierra Leoneans to be a major political factor at the elite level, this may not be as important a factor as most people believe.
Ethnic affiliations strongly influenced political party membership for the two dominant ethnic groups, the Mende and Themne, each of which accounted for approximately 30 percent of the population. The Mende traditionally supported the SLPP and the Themne the APC. Other than the Limba, the third-most-populous ethnic group, who traditionally supported the APC, the other ethnic groups had no strong political party affiliations. Freedom House argued that although “[p]opular discourse often ascribes ethnic biases to particular political parties…electoral data indicate that there is significant flexibility in regional and ethnic voting patterns”.
In 2002 the devastating 11-year civil conflict officially ended, and the government, backed by a United Nations peacekeeping force (UNAMSIL), asserted control over the whole country. In 2004 UNAMSIL handed responsibility for security countrywide to the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF) and Sierra Leone Police (SLP). In 2005 UNAMSIL withdrew all remaining peacekeepers and transferred nonpeacekeeping responsibilities to a follow-on peacebuilding UN mission (UNIOSIL). In September 2007 UNIOSIL's mandate ended, and the UN Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Sierra Leone (UNIPSIL) was established to support government institutions and monitor and protect human rights and the rule of law. Civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of the security forces.
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