THE EFFECT OF EXPECTED WOMEN'S PARTICIPATION IN LEGISLATIVE GOVERNANCE ON PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION IN SIERRA LEONE: A PROBIT MODEL EVIDENCE

Autori

  • Saa Emerson Lamina PhD Candidate, Institute of Geography and Development Studies, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Njala University, Sierra Leone and Member of Parliament, Sierra Leone
  • Robert Dauda Korsu PhD Director of Research and Statistics Department, Bank of Sierra Leone, and Associate Lecturer, Department of Economics, Njala University, Sierra Leone

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46827/ejpss.v9i2.2263

Parole chiave:

proportional representation, women's participation, governance, Probit Model, Sierra Leone

Abstract

The study investigates whether support for the proportional representation system of legislative governance in Sierra Leone is linked to an expected increase in women's participation in legislative governance. A Probit model of proportional representation support is estimated using a national survey dataset from all five regions in Sierra Leone, with all 16 districts covered. The results show that among those who support a proportional representation system of parliament, increased women's representation in parliament as a reason is 13.9 percentage points higher than otherwise. In addition, the probability of a respondent supporting proportional representation based on the expected increase in women's participation is 60.7% and is significant at the 1% level. Hence, there are about 39.3% of the sample that do not support PR in spite of its increase in female participation in legislative governance in Sierra Leone. The actual proportion supporting PR based on women's participation in governance is found to be 60.86%, implying that it captures the data well. In addition, overall, the proportion of the sample that supports PR. is 59.0%. Hence, enforcement of the Gender Equality Women Empowerment (GEWE) Act by the Political Party Regulation Commission (PPRC) and the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone is very critical for the enhancement and sustainability of the PR system adopted in Sierra Leone in 2022, which is a tool for inclusive developments in all districts across Sierra Leone, including strengthening maternal and child healthcare, girls’ education and enforcement of gender-based violence laws.

Biografie autore

  • Saa Emerson Lamina, PhD Candidate, Institute of Geography and Development Studies, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Njala University, Sierra Leone and Member of Parliament, Sierra Leone

    Honourable Saa Emerson Lamina holds an MA degree in Peace and Development Studies (MA, PADS), a Master of Educational, Administration (M. ED Admin) and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education, Linguistics Major (BA Ed. Ling), from Njala University, Sierra Leone. He is a Member of Parliament of Sierra Leone and a Ph.D candidate in the Institute of Geography and Development Studies, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Njala University. His research interests are Electoral Systems and Democratic Governance, Peace Building and Conflict Prevention, Politics of Development and Political Economy of Africa.

  • Robert Dauda Korsu, PhD Director of Research and Statistics Department, Bank of Sierra Leone, and Associate Lecturer, Department of Economics, Njala University, Sierra Leone

    Robert Dauda Korsu is the Director of the Research and Statistics Department at the Bank of Sierra Leone and an Associate Lecturer at the Department of Economics, Njala University, Sierra Leone. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, an M.Sc. (Econ) from Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia and a Bachelor’s degree with Honours in Economics from the University of Sierra Leone (Fourah Bay College). His research interests are Macroeconomic Policy, Monetary Economics, Applied Econometrics, and International Trade and Finance. He is a network member of the African Economic Research Consortium, based in Nairobi, Kenya, a life Fellow of the Economic Association of Sierra Leone and member of ResearchGate and Academia.edu.

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Pubblicato

2026-07-17

Fascicolo

V. 9 N. 2 (2026)

Sezione

Articles