By Alpha Amadu Jalloh
Do political parties in Sierra Leone truly have ideologies? Do the leaders of these parties even understand what those ideologies are supposed to be? Or have our political parties been reduced to personality cults, hollow shells centered on individuals rather than grounded in any meaningful social, economic, or philosophical foundation? These are questions that many ordinary Sierra Leoneans are either afraid to ask, too exhausted to consider, or have long since given up trying to answer. But if we are to move forward as a nation, we must confront them head-on.
Sierra Leone’s political history is plagued with a tragic pattern of political militarism and cult-style allegiance. The parties that dominate our national discourse, the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) and the All People’s Congress (APC), are no longer ideological homes but echo chambers of individual worship. They do not inspire critical thought or civic engagement. Instead, they promote blind loyalty, fear-based conformity, and regional strongholds fortified by decades of manufactured division. And that is dangerous.
What has transpired throughout my life as a Sierra Leonean is nothing short of a betrayal of democratic maturity. Political leadership is treated not as a service to the people but as an inherited throne, defended not through ideas but through intimidation. The rise and fall of political parties in our nation have followed a predictable script. They are created around powerful individuals and die with them. Sometimes literally, always politically.
Consider the once promising People’s Democratic Party (PDP Sorbeh), the United National People’s Party, the National Grand Coalition, the National Unity Movement, and many others. These political parties vanished into obscurity as fast as they emerged. Not because their ideas failed to resonate, but because they never had a foundational ideology to begin with. Instead, they functioned as vehicles for the ambitions of singular men. When those men fell out of favor, left the country, died, or were bought off, their parties dissolved like salt in water.
This is not just unfortunate. It is a national crisis. It is why our politics lacks continuity. It is why our policies are erratic and largely ineffective. It is why governments spend more time reversing their predecessor’s achievements than building on them. It is why Sierra Leone remains trapped in a cycle of poverty, corruption, and underdevelopment, despite billions in foreign aid and decades of so-called democratic governance.
Today, the Sierra Leone People’s Party is built around Julius Maada Bio. Like it or not, this is not an exaggeration. Every structure of the party, every decision, every campaign strategy revolves around his persona. When he coughs, the entire party sneezes. Question him and you are considered a traitor, not just to the party but to the state. Criticize him and you risk losing your job, your safety, or even your right to speak. In the SLPP’s current structure, the party’s institutional health is irrelevant. Maada Bio is the party.
Likewise, the All People’s Congress remains tethered to the legacy and control of Ernest Bai Koroma. Even when leadership changes are proclaimed, it is merely cosmetic. The old guard pulls the strings from behind the curtain. The APC does not exist today as a progressive opposition or a think tank of national alternatives. It is instead a waiting room for the return of its old glory. Glory tied to one man and his loyalists.
Both the SLPP and APC, the two dominant parties in Sierra Leone, have failed to establish and maintain any clear ideological foundation. Their existence has largely revolved around personalities, patronage networks, and regional strongholds rather than coherent political principles or policy visions. This failure has had far-reaching consequences on the country’s democratic development and institutional credibility.
The SLPP, despite being one of Africa’s oldest political parties, has gradually abandoned the founding ideals that once aligned with social democracy and pan-African solidarity. Its early leaders, including Sir Milton Margai and Siaka Stevens who later defected to create the APC, were products of anti-colonial resistance and carried the aspiration of building a just and unified Sierra Leone. However, over the decades, the SLPP lost its ideological footing. Today, the party functions more as a campaign vehicle for Maada Bio than as a forum for progressive discourse. No consistent or measurable policy framework exists to guide members, inform the electorate, or assess performance. Decisions are often reactive, and governance appears more focused on consolidating political control than delivering public service.
The APC, founded as a working-class alternative to the elitist SLPP, once positioned itself as a populist and development-oriented party. Under Siaka Stevens and later Joseph Saidu Momoh, it promised grassroots engagement, national unity, and infrastructure expansion. But like the SLPP, the APC’s ideological roots have withered. Under Ernest Bai Koroma, the party evolved into a patronage empire, with loyalty to the leader valued above competence or principle. Even today, party activities remain suspended in internal power struggles, personality clashes, and factional battles rather than being centered on policy debates or citizen empowerment.
This ideological vacuum in both parties has deeply damaged Sierra Leone’s democracy in three key ways.
First, it has weakened policy continuity. Every change in government is treated as a regime change, not a democratic transition. New governments reverse previous policies simply because they are associated with their rivals. There is no long-term national development agenda that transcends party lines. Projects are abandoned midstream, investments wasted, and foreign confidence shaken. The nation becomes trapped in a cycle of starting afresh every five years.
Second, it has eroded accountability. Without ideology, parties are not guided by principles but by opportunism. Loyalty to the leader becomes the only metric of survival. As a result, both the SLPP and APC have protected corrupt officials, rewarded mediocrity, and punished whistleblowers. There is no moral compass, only political calculation. Citizens cannot demand accountability because the parties themselves lack a standard against which their actions can be judged.
Third, it has hollowed out civic engagement. Democracy thrives on ideas, debates, and participation. But when political parties are reduced to echo chambers of tribalism, fear, and personal loyalty, citizens disengage. Young people see politics as dirty. Educated minds opt out. Civil society is co-opted. Elections become rituals, not choices. Voters are expected to show up and clap, not question or critique. In this environment, democracy becomes performative, not substantive.
This political style is destructive in countless ways. It stifles internal democracy, undermines national unity, and institutionalizes corruption. These dangers are not theoretical. They are lived experiences. Sierra Leoneans have watched them unfold time and again. Political militarism in our country is not just about soldiers in uniforms. It is about the militarization of thought, the suppression of dialogue, the substitution of fear for freedom. This is what must change.
If Sierra Leone is to progress, we must reject this toxic political culture. We must demand political parties that are built not on individuals but on ideas. Parties that have clear, written ideologies on education, healthcare, youth employment, taxation, infrastructure, trade, and governance. Ideologies that are debated, taught to their members, and used to hold leaders accountable. This is what democracy looks like. Not blind allegiance but informed engagement.
It is the right of every Sierra Leonean to ask. What does your party stand for beyond a man’s name? What policy does your party support on agriculture? On decentralization? On women’s empowerment? On freedom of expression? On the economy? If a party cannot answer those questions without invoking the name of its leader, then it has failed the people.
This is why it is critical for voters to be educated on political ideologies and not just personalities. It is why political debates should be televised and structured around issues, not insults. It is why party constitutions must be public documents and their internal elections transparent. And it is why our civil society, media, and religious leaders must challenge the status quo rather than benefit from it.
Sierra Leone must also look to examples, imperfect though they may be, of countries where ideological politics have created room for transformation. In Ghana, while parties have their internal problems, there is a recognizable ideological distinction between the New Patriotic Party and the National Democratic Congress. The NPP is center-right and pro-business, while the NDC leans center-left with a focus on social welfare. Voters there are more likely to align with parties based on issues and economic direction.
In South Africa, the African National Congress is built on its liberation ideology, although it faces mounting criticisms of corruption and complacency. Meanwhile, the Economic Freedom Fighters emerged with a radical economic platform that speaks directly to issues of land reform and inequality. Regardless of whether one agrees with their politics, the parties are identifiable by their policy direction.
In Tunisia, after the 2011 revolution, new political parties emerged with clear ideological underpinnings. The Ennahda Party, for instance, declared its blend of Islamic values and democracy. Secular parties like Nidaa Tounes offered a counterbalance. While Tunisia faces political turbulence, it shows that ideological contestation is possible.
In Kenya, parties like ODM, UDA, and Jubilee have evolved, but citizens are increasingly debating the ideas they present around the economy, youth employment, and governance. Civil society there has helped keep issues at the center of public conversation, although tribal influences still persist.
We too must evolve.
We must teach our children in schools not only the history of Sierra Leone but the principles of political ideologies. Liberalism, conservatism, socialism, pan-Africanism, social democracy, and more. Let them learn to identify ideas, not just colors, logos, and jingles. Let them understand that governance is about delivery, not drama. Let them learn that their loyalty should be to the Constitution, not to any man.
It is time we stopped seeing politics as war and started seeing it as nation-building. Politics is not about destroying your opponent but building your country. It is not about fighting for power. It is about fighting for people. If we do not change course, our democracy will remain a masquerade, a hollow dance around empty promises.
To those who lead our parties today. Step down from the throne and walk among the people. Teach your members what you believe, not just what you want them to shout. Build your parties as institutions, not parades. Prepare successors who will carry ideas, not just your name.
And to the people of Sierra Leone. Cast your vote not for who shouts loudest or dances best, but for who speaks to your needs, your dreams, and your future. Let your ballot be a message. Not of loyalty to a man, but of hope in a better country.
It is time to move beyond the cult. Sierra Leone deserves ideological politics, not political militarism.