Sierra Leone: President Julius Bio re-elected for second term

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.