With 56.17% of the vote, the favorite of the ballot Julius Maada Bio won in the first round against the same opponent as in 2018, Samura Kamara. While the vote was generally calm, incidents were reported and the opposition yesterday rejected partial results deemed “manipulated and unverified”, accusing the electoral commission of bias.
The polls did not lie in Sierra Leone: incumbent President Julius Maada Bio was re-elected in the first round for a second term as head of the country with 56.17% of the vote, the head of the electoral commission indicated on Tuesday. .
“By virtue of the powers vested in me, I hereby certify that Julius Maada Bio is elected President in the election of June 24, 2023,” Mohamed Kenewui Konneh said to applause at a press conference. in Freetown.
Julius Maada Bio’s main opponent, Samura Kamara, came second with 41.16% of the vote, according to the final results of the authority in charge of the elections.
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Immediately, supporters of the president, dressed in green, the color of the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), celebrated their champion by honking their horns and banging on pots in downtown Freetown. Others blew vuvuzelas and sang “Maada Bio, Maada Bio”.
“I’m happy Bio won, we want him to stabilize the economy and create jobs,” said SLPP activist Susan Myers, 34.
Lack of transparency
The day before, partial results gave the outgoing president more than 55% of the vote, synonymous with victory in the first round. They had been rejected by the opposition, which castigated the lack of inclusiveness, transparency and accountability of the electoral commission.
Tuesday, before the proclamation of the final results, Samura Kamara reaffirmed in a press release “the total rejection by the APC” of the partial results, “manipulated and unverified”, according to them.
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The poll, which took place on Saturday, was generally calm, although observers reported violent incidents during the vote and during the closing and counting.
European Union observers felt that the lack of transparency and communication from the electoral authority had created mistrust in the electoral process.
On Sunday evening, a woman was killed at the opposition headquarters as security forces sought to disperse the gathered crowd.
Massive investments in education
Some 3.4 million people were called on Saturday to choose between 13 candidates, a 2018 rematch-like ballot between Julius Maada Bio, a 59-year-old retired military man who was seeking a second term, and Samura Kamura, a 72-year-old technocrat. years.
In 2018, Julius Maada Bio, candidate of the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), won in the second round with 51.8% of the vote.
During his first term, Julius Maada Bio championed education and women’s rights. He said he wanted to focus on agriculture and reduce his country’s dependence on food imports.
In an address to the nation after the first partial results, the incumbent president called on Sierra Leoneans to remain calm and obey the law.
Samura Kamara, Minister of Finance then Foreign Affairs before the advent of Julius Maada Bio in 2018, had indicated that he wanted to restore confidence in national economic institutions and attract foreign investors.
With AFP
Source: France 24
