Founder and Executive Director of the Citizens’ Forum for Democratic Accountability, Marcus Bangura, has delivered a strong critique of Sierra Leone’s democratic accountability, arguing that the country’s democratic progress must go beyond periodic elections.
Speaking on AYV’s Wake Up Sierra Leone, Bangura stressed that accountability remains inseparable from democracy, warning that the two cannot be effectively separated.
“It will be very difficult to see because democracy go in line with accountability,” he said.
Bangura described Parliament as a critical institution through which citizens can assess the direction of the country, likening it to a mirror reflecting Sierra Leone’s future.
“Parliament is like a mirror through which we see the future. If Parliament was representing the people, as a result of that, the people would work to develop the nation by making progress,” Bangura stated.
He further challenged the common tendency to equate democracy solely with elections, arguing that voting is only one component of a functioning democratic system.
“There is more to democracy than elections. Elections are one aspect. Outside elections, beyond elections, what else is there? It is what strengthens democracy?” he questioned.
In one of his most striking remarks, Bangura invoked the late Kenyan scholar and political scientist Ali Mazrui, using the university and Parliament as contrasting indicators of a country’s future.
“Ali Mazrui once said, if you want to know where the future of a country lies, go to the university, and if you want to know where Sierra Leone lies, go to Parliament,” he said.
Bangura’s comments have added fresh weight to the national conversation around Parliamentary representation, accountability, citizen participation and the quality of Sierra Leone’s democracy, as growing attention focuses on what happens beyond the ballot box.
His central message is that democracy cannot be sustained by elections alone; it must be reinforced by accountable institutions that genuinely represent and respond to the people.
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