By Nasratu Kargbo
One of the recommendations made in the National Electoral Watch’s (NEW) 2023 Electoral Cycle Report is for Government to ensure a credible housing census is conducted in 2025.
The report which was launched on the 16th April 2024 recommends that the government should in consultation and collaboration with political parties, civil society and international partners conduct a credible population and housing census next year and ensure that they follow the benchmarks and guidelines for the census in a bid to correct the anomalies of the previous censuses.
In a panel discussion on recommendations made to different stakeholders, the National Coordinator of the institution Rev. James Lahai spoke on the relevance of conducting census saying government will be equipped with accurate data of all residents in the country that will serve as guide to helping government in planning, making policies and other development decisions.
Lahai said in Sierra Leone census is part of the formula to determine the allocation of seats for parliamentarians and councilors per district, and due to the connection between census and electoral activities, the country has had problems with censuses.
Citing the 2015 census, he said CSOs and the opposition complained about the credibility of the census that was conducted, saying the figures were deliberately manipulated. He said same was the case for the 2021 mid-term census, where it showed that Kenema district was far more populated than Western Urban, stressing that in such case if the government for instance wants to provide bus services for school children they will give Kenema ten and Western Urban two.
He said inaccurate data can mislead government in their planning processes. Lahai therefore called on government to conduct an accurate census and ensure that they make the process consultative and participatory.
Amongst the priority recommendations made to the government is for parliament to enact a law that protects citizen observers throughout an electoral process, adding that all national election observation groups should be part of the national conversation to prepare the election observers’ protection bill.
The report also states that in tandem with stakeholders such as the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone (ECSL), CSOs and Political Parties should take a definitive position on the type of electoral system that would be used in the future.
“The aim is to identify an electoral system that is inclusive and considers the multiparty nature of democracy and citizens’ participation requirement in electing their representatives” a part of the report reads.
Other recommendations that are considered not to be priorities include: that parliament enacts a law and provide for early voting, set up an apolitical technical committee of experts to lead the vetting and assessment of appointees as heads of key state institutions such as ECSL, PPRC, the Police, Judiciary, Statistics, Anti-Corruption Commission and others, and for government to embark on public dialogue that is facilitated by experts.
Copyright © 2024 Politico (19/04/24)
