Sierra Leone's police have given reasons why they fired teargas outside the headquarters of the main opposition party, the All People's Congress, in Freetown.
In a statement, seen by the news agency AFP, police said members of the APC had paraded through Freetown "announcing to the public that they had won" the elections.
They attracted "a huge crowd" of supporters outside the headquarters, who "started harassing passersby," AFP reports.
"When the situation became unbearable, the police had to fire tear gas canisters to disperse the crowd," it added.
Tense moments
Kamara posted pictures of members of his team lying on the floor and alleged bullet holes on a door.
‘’I have been barricaded in my APC party headquarters during my live press conference. Live bullets and tear gas were fired at my offices by government forces,’’ he wrote on Twitter.
Sidie Yahya Tunis, a spokesman for the APC, told AFP that one woman died in the incident.
"She was downstairs in the medical unit. We have a little health clinic in our office; that's where she was working," he said.
Clashes also broke out outside APC's headquarters on Wednesday after the party called for "peaceful" nationwide protests.
Violent clashes
Sixty-six people were arrested Wednesday across Freetown, police said.
Samura Kamara and incumbent President Julius Maada Bio are in a tight race following Saturday's presidential polls.
President Bio has urged Sierra Leoneans to remain calm as vote counting continues, while the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone said tallying was ongoing.
The winner of the election must secure 55% of the valid votes cast, otherwise, there will be a run-off between the top two candidates two weeks after the announcement of the results.
A lot is at stake as the West African country faces many issues, including a worsening cost-of-living crisis, poverty, and massive unemployment.
