By Ishmael Sallieu Koroma
Freetown, Sierra Leone -When the world thinks about democracy in Africa, the images that often come to mind are familiar: crowded campaign rallies, ballot boxes, election observers, political speeches and the announcement of results.
But for Ghanaian award-winning documentary photojournalist Geoffrey Buta, those moments represent only one part of a much bigger story.
The real measure of democracy, he believes, begins after the votes have been counted.
It exists in classrooms where teachers prepare the next generation, in hospitals where healthcare workers serve communities, in markets where women build livelihoods, in fishing communities adapting to environmental changes, and among young people creating opportunities despite economic challenges.
These are the stories at the centre of Buta’s new photography exhibition, Beyond the Ballot: Witnessing Democracy, Development and Hope in a Changing Continent, opening in Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown, next month.
The exhibition features about 100 museum-quality photographs captured during more than three years of fieldwork across Sierra Leone, documenting ordinary citizens whose daily lives reflect the successes, struggles and possibilities of democracy.
Speaking exclusively to Pan African Visions, Buta said the idea behind the project was born from a question that continued to trouble him:
What happens after the elections are over?
“Every election attracts enormous attention, especially in Africa where countries are continuing to embrace and strengthen democracy,” he said.
“But once the results are declared, those attentions are gone. I wanted to document what happens before and after especially after the celebrations, disputes and headlines fade.”
For Buta, democracy cannot be fully understood through election results alone. It must also be seen through the experiences of citizens navigating everyday realities.
“Democracy is not simply a ballot box,” he said.
“With my camera, democracy is a teacher shaping future citizens, a nurse serving a remote community, a market woman supporting her family, a fisherman adapting to climate change, and young people creating opportunities despite limited resources.”
“These are not separate stories from democracy. They are democracy.”
Beyond elections: finding democracy in everyday life
Across the world, elections often become the most visible symbol of democracy. But Buta argues that political transitions are only one moment in a much longer journey. Once campaign posters disappear, political rallies end and international attention moves elsewhere, citizens continue to experience the impact of decisions made by those in power.
It is this overlooked period that he wants his photographs to capture.
“It is the decision we collectively took with our thumbs,” Buta said, referring to the act of voting.
“But democracy is ultimately about whether people can live with dignity, participate equally and have hope for the future.”
His exhibition challenges the idea that democratic success should only be measured by peaceful elections. Instead, it explores questions of inclusion, accountability, opportunity and whether ordinary people feel they have a stake in shaping their societies.
“Democracy belongs to citizens, not politicians,” he said.
“Political leaders may define policies, but it is ordinary people who experience their impact every day. Their stories are the true measure of whether democracy is delivering opportunity, justice and inclusion.”
Why Sierra Leone became the starting point
Sierra Leone was chosen as the first chapter of Buta’s wider continental project because of the country’s own democratic journey.
More than two decades after a brutal civil war, the country has continued efforts to strengthen democratic institutions while confronting social and economic challenges shared by many African nations.
“Sierra Leone presented a unique opportunity,” Buta said.
“More than two decades after its civil war, the country continues to strengthen its democratic institutions while facing challenges shared across Africa.”
“It felt like the right place to begin a continental conversation about what democracy truly means in people’s everyday lives.”
During his years travelling across Sierra Leone, Buta said his understanding of the country changed. He arrived expecting to document problems. Instead, he found resilience and innovation.
“There were many moments, but one that stays with me was seeing communities solving their own problems through resilience rather than waiting for outside assistance,” he said.
He highlighted examples of women leading savings groups, young entrepreneurs creating businesses and communities transforming plastic waste into construction materials.
“That shifted my perspective from documenting challenges to documenting possibility.”
Changing the way Africa is seen
Beyond the Ballot also challenges a long-standing global narrative about Africa. For decades, many international images of the continent have focused heavily on conflict, poverty and humanitarian crises. Buta does not deny these realities. But he believes they represent only part of Africa’s story.
“Africa has often been photographed through crisis,” he said.
“While those realities exist, they are not the whole story.”
He believes African photographers have a responsibility to document their societies with honesty while also capturing dignity, creativity and hope.
“We have a responsibility to tell our stories with honesty, complexity and dignity,” he said.
“Africa cannot continue to be understood primarily through external perspectives.”
“Our photographers understand the nuances, cultures and aspirations of our communities, and we must preserve those stories for future generations.”
For Buta, photography is not simply about creating images. It is about creating a historical record.
The people behind the photographs
Behind every image in the exhibition are hours of conversations, relationship-building and difficult decisions about how to represent people fairly. Buta said gaining trust from communities was one of the most important parts of the project.
“Being an outsider required humility,” he said.
“I spent time listening before photographing. Building trust was more important than making images.”
Although he is Ghanaian, Buta said he did not approach Sierra Leone as a foreign observer.
“I wasn’t documenting Sierra Leone as a foreign observer, but as a fellow African interested in understanding another nation’s democratic journey.”
That perspective, he said, helped him identify connections between Sierra Leone’s experience and broader African realities.
The challenges behind the camera
Documenting democracy also meant working in politically sensitive environments. Buta recalled election night as one of the most demanding periods of the project.
“We worked through long hours, often in darkness during power outages, documenting vote counting while maintaining neutrality and respecting strict electoral procedures,” he said.
The assignment required patience, discipline and a commitment to accuracy. But some of the hardest moments were emotional.
Photographing communities experiencing economic hardship and environmental challenges required sensitivity and care.
“Emotionally, photographing vulnerable communities facing climate challenges or economic hardship was difficult,” he said.
“But I always wanted the images to preserve dignity rather than portray people as victims.”
That approach became central to the exhibition. The photographs do not only show hardship. They show determination.
Climate change, innovation and resilience
Among the themes explored in Beyond the Ballot, climate change emerged as one of the areas that surprised Buta most.
He initially expected to document environmental challenges. Instead, he found communities adapting through creativity.
“Climate resilience surprised me the most,” he said.
“I expected to document environmental challenges, but instead I found remarkable innovation, communities adapting through local knowledge, women leading environmental initiatives and young people creating sustainable solutions.”
Those experiences reinforced his belief that resilience remains one of Africa’s greatest strengths.
When communities became storytellers
At the beginning of the project, Buta said some people were surprised when he explained that he was photographing democracy rather than politics.
For many, democracy was closely associated with elections and political leaders.
But their understanding changed when they realised the project was about their own lives.
“Once I explained that I wanted to document their lives, their work, their families and their aspirations, they immediately understood,” he said.
“They realised their own stories mattered, and many became active participants rather than simply subjects.”
For Buta, the relationship between photographer and community is essential.The camera becomes more than a tool for recording images. It becomes a bridge between people and the wider world.
Photography and the power to change conversations
Buta does not claim that photography alone can transform governments or solve social problems. But he believes images can influence how societies understand those challenges.
“Photography alone cannot change policy,” he said.
“But photography can change conversations.”
A powerful image, he explained, can make invisible issues visible, humanize statistics and encourage decision-makers to see the people behind policies.For him, photographs are also historical documents.They preserve how citizens lived, struggled and participated in shaping their societies.
Building a continental archive of democracy
Beyond the Ballot is not designed to be only a Sierra Leone story.
It is the first chapter of a wider initiative titled Witnessing Democracy Across a Changing Continent, which aims to document democratic experiences across Africa.
Future editions are planned in countries including Liberia, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, Tanzania, Benin, Togo, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zimbabwe.
The ambition is to create one of Africa’s most significant visual archives on democracy, governance and peacebuilding.
For Buta, the project is also about ensuring Africans document their own realities.
“Our photographers understand the nuances, cultures and aspirations of our communities,” he said.
“And we must preserve those stories for future generations.”
A question for every visitor
When visitors enter the exhibition in Freetown, Buta hopes they will not simply look at photographs and leave.
He wants the images to start conversations.Whether the visitor is a policymaker, student, business owner or market trader, he hopes each person reflects on their own role in building democracy.
“Democracy is everyone’s responsibility,” he said.
“Whether you make policy, study for the future or earn a living in the marketplace, every person contributes to building the nation.”
For Buta, the success of the exhibition will not only be measured by the number of visitors.It will be measured by the questions it creates.
“I hope they ask a simple question: ‘What does democracy look like after the votes have been counted?’”
“If that question leads families, communities and leaders to talk about education, healthcare, opportunity, accountability, peace and the future they want to build together, then this exhibition will have achieved its purpose.”
Beyond the Ballot: Witnessing Democracy, Development and Hope in a Changing Continent will be held at Fourah Bay College and Family Kingdom Resort in Freetown. According to the organisers, admission to the exhibition will be free.
