Former President Koroma Joins Other World Leaders in “A Call for Democracy”

The former President of Sierra Leone, H. E. Ernest Bai Koroma has joined other global leaders by signing an open letter, which advocates that governments should uphold the values and principles of democracy throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

The letter, titled “A Call to Defend Democracy”, was initiated by IDEA, a Stockholm-based International organisation, and the Washington-DC-based National Endowment for Democracy. It’s salient aim is to encourage citizens and policymakers to remain vigilant in protecting their civil freedoms in a time of international crisis.

Indeed, the open letter warns that civil freedoms are currently under threat from governments that are using the coronavirus crisis to tighten their grip on power.

The document aims to raise awareness of the benefits of democracy in tackling the pandemic, from maintaining the physical and mental health of citizens, to providing a wide range of recovery strategies in governing circles.  What’s more, the letter stresses how crucial government accountability is in monitoring the use of extraordinary federal powers and to acknowledge when such powers are no longer needed.

The letter also notes how minorities and vulnerable groups have been found to be especially at risk from constrictions of democratic freedoms during the pandemic.

Increasingly across Africa, governments have been flexing their soldierly muscles against civil liberties, as lockdowns and restrictive social measures reshape the way we live. In a recent report by Minority Rights Group International and the Ceasefire Centre for Civilian Rights, the risk of genocide or systematic violent repression in Burkina Faso was found to have risen sharply since the beginning of the pandemic. Similarly, cases of systematic violence by the police against citizens have also risen in Kenya and Cameroon, sparking outrage and public protests.

The open letter has been signed by over 500 political and civil leaders, including 73 pro-democracy institutions, 13 Nobel Laureates, and 62 former heads of state and government from around the world.

“The current pandemic represents a formidable global challenge to democracy. Authoritarian leaders around the world see the COVID-19 crisis as a new political battleground in their fight to stigmatize democracy as feeble and reverse its dramatic gains of the past few decades”, the letter states.

“Democracy is under threat, and people who care about it must summon the will, the discipline, and the solidarity to defend it. At stake are the freedom, health, and dignity of people everywhere”.

H.E. Ernest Bai Koroma served at President of Sierra Leone from 2007 to 2018 and has been vocal in his support of democratic, anti-corruption governments, both in and out of office. Latterly, the former president has also become a leading figure of international cooperation, lending his support to political and civil rights campaigns and ecological conservation work.

“A Call to Defend Democracy” is available to read and sign online.

Photo: Metadata