President Julius Maada Bio has urged Sierra Leoneans to remain calm as vote counting continues following Saturday polls.
“As we await the official announcement of results from the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone, I encourage everyone to remain calm, keep faith in the systems and continue to preserve our peace and unity,” he said on Twitter on Sunday.
Samura Kamara, one of the 13 candidates in the presidential election, has asked Sierra Leoneans to “unite and move forward.”
“A heartfelt thank you to the nation and every single voter who made their voice [heard] in our presidential, parliamentary and local elections. Your participation is what fuels our democracy,” Kamara said on Twitter.
Tight race
Opinion polls predict a close contest between President Bio and Kamara, an opposition candidate.
Approximately 3.4 million people had registered as voters ahead of the June 24, 2023 Sierra Leone General Election.
Voting was largely peaceful, with pockets of violence and rigging allegations reported in certain parts of the country.
In a statement on Saturday, the electoral commission said violence had been meted out on its employees during the transportation of election material, terming the attacks “unfortunate”.
“This is an unfortunate situation because the movement of these materials is being done within the law,” the commission stated.
'Transparent' exercise
On the allegations of ballot stuffing and other forms of rigging, the electoral commission said the claims were untrue because "police officers and election observers were present in all polling centres.”
A delay in the opening of polling centres was witnessed in western parts of the country and urban districts, triggering unrest among voters. The electoral commission said it had received ballot material late, resulting in the delay.
Upon the closing of polling stations at 5pm on Saturday, vote counting began.
Tallying, however, started at 8am on Sunday in most centres countrywide, with the exercise expected to take more than a day to complete.
Bio, who has been the President of Sierra Leone since April 2018, hopes to overcome Kamara’s onslaught in the return fixture.
Bio of the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) got 1.3 million votes to be declared the winner of the 2018 presidential election, while Kamara of the All People's Congress (APC) Party came second with 1.2 million votes.
