IGC for SL Elections 2023 (Sierra Leone)

This project consists of a pilot where we plan to explore potential solutions to this challenge with our partners in government (from both national and local levels) and civil society in connection with the 2023 Local Council Elections in Sierra Leone. We are applying for funding to develop and pilot an initiative that would: i) identify, screen, and encourage high quality potential candidates to enter politics; and ii) share information about these potential candidates with political parties and/or civil society organizations working to enhance the electoral process. This will be done through conducting different surveys with different groups, including voters, delegates, party officials, and aspirants to better understand the selection process (in particular party internal processes for appointing aspirants to candidates), barriers faced by citizens wanting to become aspirants, attributes preferred by voters, and attributes by delegates and party rank. The intention is to increase the information available to all party members (national and local) to make the best decisions on the basis of qualifications and representation of aspirants. The pilot grant would specifically support: i) piloting variants of the proposed intervention in several communities; ii) collecting data on the current cohort of elected Local Councillors; and iii) hiring a research manager based in-country to oversee activities. This project is falls under the State theme, and it is aligned with the IGC research programme on state effectiveness. In particular, this project falls under the two sub topics: A. Representative and effective political leaders B. State Accountability