Sierra Leone’s 2028 Elections: Systemic Exclusion of Persons with Disabilities Reveals Democratic Gaps in Post-Colonial Governance
Original framing: “Will Sierra Leone’s Democracy Make Room for Persons with Disabilities?” — Global Issues
The article provides a clear historical analysis of how colonial-era legal frameworks and post-colonial governance have entrenched ableism. It connects the present exclusion of persons with disabilities to broader historical patterns of marginalization and structural adjustment policies.
Sierra Leone’s 2028 elections reveal how colonial and neoliberal structures continue to marginalize persons with disabilities, despite constitutional commitments to inclusion.
The historical roots of exclusion are compounded by donor-driven governance and eroded public infrastructure, which disproportionately affect disabled citizens. A cross-cultural and Indigenous lens could offer alternative models of participation, while a trickster reading exposes the absurdity of democratic promises unfulfilled. To move forward, systemic reforms must center disabled voices, decolonize legal systems, and build accessible electoral infrastructure. Only through such holistic transformation can Sierra Leone’s democracy become truly inclusive and just.