At a recent local council’s election in Sierra Leone, electorates showed voting apathy- lack of interest in electing their community representatives.

The separate elections held to choose various headmen in communities in Waterloo did not receive a huge turnout by most stakeholders of Koya Chiefdom in Western Area Rural district.

To enable the electors get convincing support, they had to hire most people in the early morning hours of Saturday 28, October, 2023 so that these people could cast their vote for them.

A typical example happened to some group of petty traders who were provided a free-ride to get to a polling centre at an extreme community in Waterloo.

This practice is contrary to the laws of the country owing to the fact that most petty traders were randomly selected by aspiring headmen to vote as community stakeholders in communities they don’t live at all. This strange phenomenon is said to occur in other districts across Sierra Leone whenever Chieftaincy and Headmen elections are organized.

In Waterloo, some intending voters were loaded freely in a jeep to vote for some aspiring candidates for community headmen.

Under the laws of Sierra Leone, headmen are to be voted for by community stakeholders only and they should have resided in a specific community for a number of years.

A certain number of these community stakeholders usually compose of the electorates who, by law, must elect their headmen who are representing various political parties.

The laws also require elected headmen to work hand in glove with Councilors in good faith to be able to influence useful developments in their wards or community at large.

And, since most communities are so large and have many people, the elected headmen closely work with elected councilors to bringing improvements on the community’s health care services, schools buildings, water supply, roads and electricity.

Waterloo is a densely populated town which is just few miles to Sierra Leone’s capital.

But, the town lacks basic social services like good roads, good health care, clean water and electricity.

Though other social services are important too, but majority of Waterloonians have been mostly yearning for access to electricity supply.

In areas or few of the communities where power supply is present; frequent power cuts are common there.

Therefore, a good representation in local governance on behalf of residents in Waterloo is needed but that has not been the case for the past few years.

Most people say Councilors and Members of parliament have not been representing them well.

Although this cause cannot be ruled as a factor that accounts for voters’ apathy but it can be seen as the main reason why most senior community authorities don’t show at all any interest in the just concluded Headmen Election organized by the country’s electoral commission in some parts in Waterloo.