FREETOWN, Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone's President
Julius Maada Bio was re-elected to serve a second term with 56.17% of the vote,
the head of the electoral commission said Tuesday, June 27.Sierra Leone's President Julius Maada Bio casts his vote in Freetown on June 24, 2023 during the presidential vote
Bio's main challenger Samura
Kamara, who came second with 41.16% of the vote according to final results
announced in Freetown, branded the result "not credible".
Vote tallying had already been
disputed by Kamara's All People's Congress (APC), which condemned in a
statement Monday an alleged lack of inclusiveness, transparency and
responsibility by the electoral commission.
The party pointed to the lack
of information about which polling stations or districts the ballots were
coming from.Samura Kamara
"I categorically reject
the outcome so announced by the electoral commission," Kamara said on
Twitter. In a later statement, the party alleged "overvoting" in some
areas and said it "continues to reject" the "fabricated
results" and "reaffirms our victory".
At a press conference Monday,
European Union observers said a lack of transparency and communication by the
electoral authority had led to mistrust in the electoral process.
The monitors said they
witnessed violence at seven polling stations during voting hours and at three
others during the closing and counting stages. They also said they received
reports of violent incidents in six regions, including the use of live
ammunition in three districts.
About 3.4 million people were
registered to vote in Saturday's election. Sierra Leoneans also voted in
parliamentary and municipal elections Saturday.
Bio, 59, a former coup leader
in the 1990s, has championed education and women's rights in his first civilian
term.
Kamara, 72, a former foreign
and finance minister, had assailed the electoral commission throughout the
campaign period over alleged irregularities and delays.
EU observers denounced
violence by security forces at the APC headquarters in Freetown on Sunday
night, in what the police said was an effort to disperse opposition supporters,
which left one woman dead.
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