Sierra Leoneans Urge Political Cooperation As Trust in Electoral Commission Falls to New Low

15 December 2025
Afrobarometer (Accra)
By Fredline M'cormack-Hale and Andrew Lavali

But most feel free to choose whom to vote for, believe their vote is secret, and say they did not fear violence during their last election.

Key findings

  • An overwhelming majority (91%) of Sierra Leoneans say they voted in the last national election in 2023.
  • Most feel free to choose whom to vote for (98%) and believe that their vote is secret (89%). Six in 10 (61%) say they did not fear violence or intimidation "at all" during the 2023 election.
  • More than two-thirds (69%) of Sierra Leoneans believe that the 2023 election was "completely free and fair" or "free and fair with minor problems."
  • Perceptions that the 2023 election was free and fair differ starkly according to political-party affiliation and region, from at least nine-tenths among SLPP supporters (93%) and residents of the Eastern (94%) and Southern (90%) regions to fewer than half among APC supporters (41%) and across the rest of the country (44%-48%).
  • Popular trust in the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone (ECSL) has nearly halved since 2018, falling from 64% to 34%.
  • Among key institutions, the 30-percentage-point decline is the second-steepest over this period, behind only the drop in trust in Parliament (-34 points).
  • Respondents who feel close to the ruling party (50%) are more than three times as likely as opposition-party supporters (15%) to trust the ECSL.
  • An overwhelming majority (85%) of citizens reject one-party rule, and (61%) agree that "many political parties are needed to make sure that Sierra Leoneans have real choices in who governs them."
  • But eight in 10 Sierra Leoneans (80%) want losing opposition parties and politicians to accept defeat, cooperate with the government, and help it develop the country rather than monitor and criticise the regime.

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The 2023 Sierra Leone general election was controversial, as the main opposition party rejected the results. Independent observers such as the European Union Election Observation Mission (2023) and the Carter Center (2023) voiced concerns about the election, citing flawed voter-registration processes, census disputes, and a lack of transparency in the tabulation of results.

Political tensions followed the election throughout 2023 (Jones, 2023). The leading opposition party, All People's Congress (APC), did not take its grievances to court, citing a lack of trust in the country's judicial system (Kanu, 2023). This left the election dispute to be debated in the court of public opinion - a potentially destabilising situation in a country where, historically, segments of the electorate have been misled by politicians through ethnically and regionally divisive messages (Kormoh, 2020). Five months after the election, the government put down a putsch involving more than a dozen soldiers. Some analysts blame the coup attempt on APC supporters in the armed forces who believed the ruling Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) stole the vote, while others point to poor economic conditions (Jones, 2023).

An internationally mediated settlement led by the Economic Community of West African States produced an agreement between the two main political parties to adopt 80 recommendations to, among other things, improve election quality, quickly resolve political conflicts, and promote peace and stability (Tripartite Committee Report, 2024). Implementation of the recommendations is ongoing.

Despite this settlement, grievances from the 2023 election remain unresolved. More than two years after the fractious election, some opposition leaders continue to voice serious doubts about the neutrality of the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone (ECSL) and warn that they will render the country "ungovernable" if the 2028 election is rigged (Conteh, 2025; Sesay, 2025).

This dispatch examines citizens' views on the quality of elections in Sierra Leone, popular trust in the ECSL, and opinions concerning the role of losing political parties in governance.

Findings show that while a strong majority of Sierra Leoneans say the 2023 election was generally free and fair, this share has declined compared to assessments of the 2018 election. Stark disparities exist across regions and political-party affiliations: APC supporters and respondents in opposition-party strongholds (Northern, Western, and Northwest regions) are far less likely than SLPP supporters and residents of Southern and Eastern Sierra Leone to consider the election free and fair.

Other indicators of perceived election quality are also high: Nearly all citizens say they feel free to choose whom to vote for, while nine in 10 think elites cannot find out for whom they cast their ballot.

Yet faith in the ECSL is at a new low: Only one-third say they trust the electoral management body "somewhat" or "a lot." Popular trust is down by 30 percentage points since 2018.

An overwhelming majority of citizens want opposition parties to accept defeat and cooperate with the government to develop the country, as opposed to criticising it and holding it accountable for its actions.

Fredline M'Cormack-Hale Fredline M'Cormack-Hale is the co-national investigator for Sierra Leone.

Andrew Lavali Andrew is the project director for Sierra Leone

Read the original article on Afrobarometer.

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