By: Mohamed Sahr
In an effort to present findings on the implementation of the GEWE Act 2022, Campaign for Good Governance (CGG) in collaboration with its partners, held a validation workshop on assessing political parties’ compliance with the women’s empowerment provisions in the Political Parties Act 2022.
The event, which took place on Tuesday, 7th October 2025, at the New Stella Sports Hall in Freetown, brought together women leaders from various sectors to discuss issues related to the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE) Act 2022, women’s roles in political parties, and their participation in the electioneering process.
Marcella Samba-Sesay, Executive Director of Campaign for Good Governance, explained that the focus of the workshop was to benchmark the progress made in women’s political empowerment. She emphasized that women’s representation, particularly at the community, political, and institutional levels, is a crucial part of the conversation.
Madam Samba-Sesay highlighted the key objectives of CGG, including advocating for women’s voices in governance, encouraging women’s participation to enhance accountability, and creating more spaces for women across all sectors. “Women’s empowerment is high on Sierra Leone’s political agenda,” she stated.
She noted that the Public Elections Act 2022 made provisions for women’s representation, while the GEWE Act 2022 further empowered women, especially in political contexts. Madam Samba-Sesay stressed that the conversation was meant to reflect on the power granted to women and how these provisions should be evident in the activities of political parties to ensure that the 30% representation target is met.
She commended the Government of Sierra Leone, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), and other partners for their support in reaching this benchmark after the 2022 elections. “Achieving this milestone is an early success, despite the challenges,” she added.
Hon. Dr. Bernadette Lahai, Consultant for the National Women’s Conference, mentioned that out of over 170 young leaders in the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) national elections, only 7 were women. She noted that this data had been circulated on social media, particularly in WhatsApp groups of SLPP members.
Dr. Lahai argued that there should be equal representation, as the 170 young leaders comprised both men and women. She reminded the participants that the Political Parties Act 2022 stipulates that at least 30% of all elected party executives should be women.
She added that concerns had been raised by CGG, women’s groups, women’s activists, and human rights organizations regarding political parties’ compliance with the GEWE Act and Political Parties Act. “This situation serves as an eye-opener to the lack of compliance in some political parties,” she said, urging further investigation to prevent such shortcomings in future national and local elections.
Dr. Lahai made several key recommendations, including ensuring that nominations and awards of party symbols be gender-sensitive, transparent, and accountable. She also suggested that the Political Parties Regulatory Commission (PPRC) should ensure political parties align their structures with the laws. She called for PPRC to proactively monitor lower-level elections to ensure that the 30% women’s quota is met.
Additionally, she stressed the importance of strengthening collaboration among election management bodies, the security sector, and CSOs to create a peaceful electoral environment, while also building the capacity of women’s groups to continue advocating for their rights and representation.
Emila Kamara, Executive Director of WOFRAHD, urged women’s groups and leaders to continue monitoring and raising awareness during upcoming elections to ensure compliance with the GEWE Act 2022 and Political Parties Act 2022.
Charles Vandi, Director of Children’s Affairs at the Ministry of Gender and Children’s Affairs, commended the report presented by Dr. Lahai and affirmed the ministry’s commitment to promoting gender-sensitive participation in all political processes.
A representative from Trocaire also endorsed the report and reaffirmed their commitment to supporting gender-sensitive projects in Sierra Leone.
Sahr Kendema, Senior Programmes Manager at Campaign for Good Governance, explained that the event aimed to present an assessment report on political parties’ compliance with the provisions for women’s representation outlined in both the GEWE Act 2022 and the Political Parties Act 2022.
Kendema emphasized that while the enactment of laws is important, the effective implementation of these laws is critical to ensuring women’s active participation. He acknowledged that although there were women in Parliament, the pace of implementing these laws remained slow. He urged political parties to comply with these legal provisions to ensure the full empowerment of women in Sierra Leone.