Over forty per cent of the countries in Africa held polls in 2012, sparking a raft of electoral analysis. Here, Jonathan Bhalla gives us a new angle on that analysis by making a more unusual comparison between elections in Sierra Leone and Ghana. Jonathan is a Research Manager at the Africa Research Institute. The views expressed […]
To mark the new year, Democracy in Africa has asked key groups and individuals to reflect on developments in Africa during 2012, and look forward to 2013. We have invited them to share with us their insights and predictions, their hopes and their fears. Here, we speak to John Caulker, Executive Director of Fambul Tok in Sierra Leone. […]
Sierra Leone stands at a cross roads. On the one hand, it experienced a peaceful transfer of power in 2007. A peaceful election could be another important step towards the consolidation of what would be the most remarkable African democracy. But if the results (which were being processed at the time of writing) are rejected […]
Following the elections in Sierra Leone this Saturday, Zoe Marks explores the progress that the country has made towards securing peace and forging a robust democracy, and challenges that still remain. Zoe Marks is a DPhil candidate at the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Oxford. Vote counting is now underway […]
What next for Sierra Leone? Two transfers of power have led to hope that the country will prove to be one of Africa’s most surprising democratic success stories. But many problems remain, including corruption, politicized communal identities, youth unemployment, and rising prices. With the elections just days away Jonathan Balla, a Research Manager at Africa […]
Sierra Leone is gearing up for elections in November, but many commentators are concerned about the prospects for political violence. How can we promote peace, security and democracy in Sierra Leone’s November elections? Journalists for Human Rights has proposed an answer that we thought we should bring to your attention. In a recent report by the UN […]
On the 9th of September, Presidential hopeful and retired Brigadier Julius Maada Bio of the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) visited Bo district to begin his quest to defeat the All People’s Congress (APC) in the 2012 Presidential elections. His visit was met with riots and violence culminating in Bio’s injury as rocks were thrown […]
I have just published an article on when African elections actually lead to political change in the Journal of Democracy. The aim of the paper is to explain when elections do and do not result in opposition victories, and hence create possibilities for a significant change in public policy. I show that across the continent […]
Controlling the ‘ticking timebombs’: motorbikes and social order in Freetown
In March this year, Olusegun Obasanjo referred to unemployed youth as a ‘ticking bomb’. Here, Luisa Enria looks at similar characterisations of youth unemployment in Sierra Leone and asks what the unintended consequences might be of adopting this rhetoric. Luisa is a DPhil candidate in International Development at the University of Oxford.