The debate has not only been polarizing but misses out on discussing the crucial issue: how can Sierra Leone develop an electoral system to effectively tackle its governance and development challenges – the deep-rooted ethno-regional polarisation, winner-takes-all politics, and national development shortcomings. Our new report which draws data from years of IGR and Afrobarometer’s work suggest that rather than forcing an artificial choice between the two systems, we need to combine their strengths while mitigating their weaknesses. Thus, we can forge a mixed electoral system that reflects Sierra Leone’s political realities.
This report advocates for a hybrid system that should leverage constituency-based representation used in the FPTP system (to preserve geographic accountability) while also maintaining proportional or list-based elements used in the PR (to enhance inclusion and correct representational distortions). The report offer some suggestions for what such a system would look like and call for a technical exercise that leverages experts to Sierra Leone draft it.