Sierra Leone’s electoral commission announced that President Julius Maada Bio is leading the presidential election count after 60% of votes were counted.
Bio, 59, has 12 opponents for reelection. Samura Kamara of the All People’s Congress (APC) is his strongest opponent.
Bio had almost 1 million votes, while Kamara had around 800,000. The commission declared Monday afternoon that verified results would be released within 48 hours.
Tense election. On election day, APC representatives were assaulted and intimidated in three districts. Sunday’s electoral commission reported many incidents of officials being attacked or threatened.
After a post-election news conference, a Reuters reporter found a gravely wounded woman at Sierra Leone’s opposition party offices.
Sierra Leoneans fear greater turmoil if none of the 13 candidates receives 55% of the vote, triggering a runoff between the top two.
The country is recovering from a 1991–2002 civil conflict that killed over 50,000 and wounded hundreds.
International observers are concerned about ballot counting transparency.
Election observer and lawyer Augustine Sorie-Sengbe Marrah said the electoral commission should address unfairness complaints through openness.
“Because if you say, opposition parties allege that there hasn’t been a level playing field by the ECSL (Electoral Commission Sierra Leone), I think it behooves them to ensure that they’re transparent and accountable to all parties every step of the way,” Marrah told Reuters.
Bio addressed the nation after provisional results were released Monday evening and urged peace.
“We each have a stake in maintaining peace during and after the announcement of these election results,” he stated in a televised speech.
