Beyond FPTP and Closed-List PR: Electoral Incentives, Democratic Representation and Alternative Electoral Systems for Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone’s constitutional review has revived two connected but distinct controversies: the electoral system for Parliament and local councils, and the threshold for winning the presidency. This paper argues that the debate cannot be understood solely as a contest between the democratic merits of First-Past-the-Post (FPTP) and proportional representation (PR). The positions of the country’s two major political parties also correspond to the electoral incentives created by Sierra Leone’s regional and urban voting patterns. FPTP provides a direct constituency link but can convert modest pluralities into complete representation and leave substantial minority votes without seats. The district-block closed-list PR system used in 2023 translated votes more proportionately between the two dominant parties, but its 11.9 percent parliamentary threshold excluded smaller parties and independent candidates, while its closed lists transferred considerable candidate-selection power to party executives. Drawing on official election results, Sierra Leone’s national electoral-system consultations and comparative electoral-design literature, the paper evaluates mixed-member proportional representation, open-list proportional representation and flexible-list alternatives. It recommends a protected open-list PR system based on a single candidate-preference vote, a substantially reduced threshold calibrated to district magnitude, geographically diverse candidate lists, transparent party primaries, gender safeguards, candidate-level publication of results and clearly assigned community-service responsibilities. The paper concludes that electoral design influences political representation and party behavior, but no electoral formula can independently guarantee good governance. Credible democratic institutions, internal party democracy, transparent electoral administration and qualified political leadership must support effective electoral reform.