By Millicent Senava Mannah
Sierra Leone has secured fifth place in the latest Africa Open Parliament Index (Africa OPI), with an overall score of 72.40 percent, positioning the country ahead of several peers including Nigeria, Rwanda, and Uganda. The announcement was made in the 2025 edition of the Index, published by the Africa Parliamentary Monitoring Organisations Network (APMON).
Under the leadership of Rt. Hon. Speaker Segepoh Solomon Thomas, the Sixth Parliament of the Second Republic of Sierra Leone scored 53.64 percent for transparency, 48.64 percent for civic participation, and 38.64 percent for public accountability. These figures combined to give Sierra Leone its highest overall score in the index’s history.
South Africa topped the ranking with 79.69 percent, followed by Ghana with 77.60 percent. Kenya placed third with 73.96 percent, and Zambia fourth with 73.44 percent, just ahead of Sierra Leone.
According to APMON, the Africa Open Parliament Index is a data-driven instrument that measures and analyses the openness and responsiveness of African parliaments across three core dimensions: transparency, civic participation, and public accountability. The index uses 48 carefully selected indicators to assess performance and allows comparative analysis among national, sub-national, and regional parliaments.
Beyond providing rankings, the Index also tracks progress over time, offering a consistent benchmark for legislative reform and improvement. Published every two years, it has become an important tool for parliaments and civil society actors committed to strengthening governance.
APMON expressed optimism that the findings will serve as more than a scorecard. The network said the results provide “an evidence-based document that reflects the state of affairs in various parliaments” and can guide citizens, civil society organisations, the media, and policymakers in advancing reforms.
By highlighting areas of progress and weakness, the Index is expected to encourage advocacy, promote further research, and support co-creation of initiatives that strengthen legislative institutions across the continent.
For Sierra Leone, the fifth-place ranking signals recognition of ongoing reforms in parliamentary openness and inclusivity. It also underscores the country’s growing visibility in continental governance metrics, where it now sits among the top five performers in Africa.
Observers note that while progress has been made in transparency and participation, the relatively lower score in public accountability highlights an area for continued improvement. Strengthening oversight mechanisms, expanding citizen engagement, and ensuring institutional independence remain key priorities.
The Africa Open Parliament Index is increasingly viewed as a vital platform for shaping the future of African legislatures. By providing comparative data and practical insights, it enables parliaments to learn from one another while offering citizens a clearer picture of how their representatives measure up.
For Sierra Leone, the ranking represents both an achievement and a call to action, proof of how far the country has come, and a reminder of the work still to be done in building a truly open, participatory, and accountable Parliament.
