Sierra Leone's main opposition party has rejected the results of the presidential election won by the incumbent, Julius Maada Bio.
The opposition alleges there were “glaring irregularities” in the presidential election that saw Bio garner 56.17% of the total votes cast.
Samura Kamara, the main opposition candidate who ran on the All People’s Congress (APC) Party ticket, got 41.16% of the votes in the election held on June 24.
Kamara has questioned the credibility of the final results. The European election observers said they had noted “statistical inconsistencies” in the results.
APC said on Friday that it was rejecting the election outcome due to “glaring irregularities and violations of established electoral procedures."
"We can no longer tolerate injustice, tyranny and usurpation of power in Sierra Leone. This is what dictatorship looks like," APC said in a statement.
Supreme Court option
Information Minister Mohamed Rahman Swaray rebuffed the opposition party’s call for repeat elections.
"A rerun after an official declaration of results and a swearing-in ceremony is unconstitutional," he told Reuters news agency.
"It can only happen through a Supreme Court decision. Otherwise no political party can arrogate themselves that right or power. It is wishful thinking,” added Swaray.
APC has also demanded the resignation of the electoral commission’s officials, accusing them of bungling the elections.
The opposition outfit also wants a rerun for parliamentary elections, and Bio and his immediate family members be barred from foreign travel.
It also wants senior officials in government, including ministers, to be slapped with travel bans.
The voter turnout in the June 24, 2023 Sierra Leonean General Election was 2.79 million, representing 83.02% of the total registered voters.
Bio got 1.57 million votes against Kamara’s 1.15 million votes to win the presidential contest, ushering in his second term in office.
