By Emmanuel Onyango
Millions of voters in Sierra Leone head to the polls for presidential and parliamentary elections on Saturday.
There are 13 presidential candidates, but the election is expected to a be a two-horse race between incumbent President Julius Maada Bio of Sierra Leon People’s Party (SLPP) and Samura Kamara of the main opposition All People’s Congress (APC) party.
The two front-runners are familiar to each other in presidential race, as they had competed in previous elections in 2018.
Their parties have governed the West African country at various stages of its democratic evolution and this year’s contest is expected to be keen, according to analysts. Campaigns officially ended on Thursday.
The APC party lost power in 2018 to the SLPP when President Bio was first elected defeating Kamara who was then the governing party's candidate.
There are 3.4 million registered voters. For a candidate to be declared winner of the presidential election, they must secure at least 55% of the total votes cast.
If none of the candidates is able to achieve this in the first round, the law provides for a run-off in two weeks.
“They (main parties) know they can’t win an election all by themselves so what they normally do is to co-ordinate the support of other minority groups for them to get the constitutional 55% required to win,” Andrew Lavalie, the director of Institute of Governance Reform told TRT Afrika
Enthusiasm
The country is still recovering from the trauma of a bloody 11-year civil war that ended about two decades ago.
Many Sierra Leoneans hope these elections, the fifth since the end of the war in 2002, will consolidate the recovery process as well as strengthen the country’s democracy.
Enthusiasm for elections is high and there is considerable knowledge among voters on what is at stake, according to analysts.
Sierra Leoneans need ‘’to really come together and forget about all the past and think about the future; and the future is that we need sustainable development,’’ Alhassan Fabunge, a resident of the capital, Freetown told TRT Afrika.
Some analysts consider the elections as a referendum on President Maada Bio’s five years in power and his scorecard.
From the markets in Freetown to the streets in regional towns, the core concern among many Sierra Leoneans is the economy.
The opposition say the country’s economy has not been doing well with prices of basic commodities going up sharply and unemployment rate high.
They held anti-government protests in August last year during which four police officers and a number of protesters died in clashes.
The opposition presidential candidate Samura Kamara, a former foreign affairs minister, promises to improve the economy.
But government supporters say inflation is a global problem affecting many countries not only Sierra Leone.
Last-minute change
Poverty rate is also high as nearly 81% of Sierra Leonean households were unable to meet their basic food needs last year, with 15% severely food insecure and needed food assistance, according to an analysis by the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP).
But President Bio says his government has done well in handling the economy ‘’despite turbulent times globally.’’ He also cites his flagship free education programme as among the achievements of his administration.
The programme saw the government allocate 22% of its budget annually over the last five years to get all children in school at both primary and secondary levels.
His fight against corruption also saw Sierra Leone rise 19 positions to be ranked 110th on Transparency International’s index in 2022.
The president’s reelection campaign slogan is “The People's Manifesto 2023,” promising to “solidify gains” made during his first five years.
Apart from the presidential polls, voters are also going to choose members of parliament as well as local councils’ officials on Saturday.
The outcome of the polls might be record-breaking because the number of women in parliament is expected to increase significantly following a last-minute change in electoral laws.
Fair polls needed
The law requires political parties to ensure at least 30% of their nominees for all parliamentary and local councils' seats are women.
“Political parties had to scramble to simply place any woman in these lists,” said Femi Cludious, head of the only female-led party in the country.
The rush, according to her, has raised questions about competence of some those being fielded. Her Cole Unity party was disqualified a month to the election.
The opposition presidential candidate Samura Kamara had called for the country's electoral commissioners to resign and to be replaced by "an independent internationally accredited team."
He claimed last week that there was no ‘’credible voters' register’’ and that voter identity cards were ‘’blurred and substandard.’’
But the Chief electoral commissioner Mohamed Kenewui Konneh rejected the accusations and said none of his team would resign.
The ruling party also said the claims about the electoral commission were "preposterous".
The opposition leaders have also complained of intimidation of their supporters alleging that one person was killed by the police during a gathering in their party headquarters on Wednesday. There was no immediate comment from the police.
Many citizens hope for peaceful elections and those to be elected to work hard to improve their living conditions.
One of the expectations of Sierra Leoneans is that the government to be elected ‘’will be able to stabilise things and provide jobs for the youth,’’ Mohammed Begu, a resident of the Freetown told TRT Afrika.
‘’My expectation for this election is to be free, fair and transparent,’’ another resident, Justice Lamina said.
