By Mo Hamad Kargbo
The two main political parties in Sierra Leone, the All Peoples Congress (APC) and the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), have assured Statistics Sierra Leone of their full participation and support for the 2026 Population and Housing Census.
The commitment was made on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, during the Training of Master Trainers for the 2026 Census, held at the Family Kingdom in Freetown.
The event brought together representatives of Statistics Sierra Leone, UNFPA, government officials, development partners, political parties and other stakeholders as preparations intensify for the census, which will use December 1 as Census Night, with enumeration beginning on December 2.
Speaking on behalf of the SLPP, Deputy Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources Ahmed Saybom Kanu said the party recognised the census as a national exercise that should go beyond political interests.
He commended Statistics Sierra Leone and its development partners for adopting a fully digital census approach, while stressing the importance of effective training and timely deployment of field personnel to ensure the success of the exercise.
Saybom said full population coverage should be a major priority, arguing that accurate population figures were important for governance, planning and other national processes.
He welcomed the involvement of political parties, parliamentarians, academics and civil society organisations in the census preparations, describing the stakeholder consultations as a sign of inclusivity.
The SLPP representative also called on Statistics Sierra Leone and UNFPA to involve political parties in public sensitisation efforts so that party members across the country could help promote the census.
He formally pledged the SLPP’s continued support from the enumeration phase through to the release of the final census report.
Saybom further called on politicians to put aside political, religious and tribal divisions during the census, urging all stakeholders to work together to ensure the credibility and reliability of the data collected.
Meanwhile, former Minister of Transport and Aviation and APC representative Leonard Balogun Koroma also assured Statistics Sierra Leone that the main opposition party was fully on board with the census.
Balogun said the APC’s presence at the training demonstrated its support for the national exercise and pledged that the party would remain engaged until the census process was completed.
He urged Statistics Sierra Leone to maintain regular engagement, transparency and communication with political parties, arguing that continuous consultation would help address concerns and dispel rumours surrounding the census.
The APC representative acknowledged that political parties often become suspicious of census exercises conducted under governments led by their political opponents, describing such concerns as part of the country’s political reality.
However, he stressed that the APC did not intend to sabotage the 2026 census and instead wanted to work with Statistics Sierra Leone to ensure a credible exercise.
Balogun called on the statistics authorities to respond to queries and concerns raised by political parties and maintain an open channel of communication throughout the process.
He also supported calls for nationwide sensitisation and mobilisation to prepare citizens to receive census enumerators and provide the required information.
According to him, a joint sensitisation effort involving the APC and SLPP could help build public confidence and reassure citizens that the census was a national exercise rather than a partisan political activity.
He further emphasised the importance of the Training of Master Trainers, noting that quality data depended on quality preparation and training.
“Quality data starts with quality training,” Balogun said, stressing that properly trained personnel would be critical to achieving reliable census results.
He said the APC was prepared to temporarily put aside its political interests and work towards ensuring a credible 2026 Population and Housing Census.
