Sierra Leone set to vote in general elections on Saturday

By James Tasamba

KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) – Voters in Sierra Leone will go to the polls on Saturday in the country’s general elections to elect a president, MPs and local councils.

Thirteen candidates are in the race for the president in the West African country.

Incumbent President Julius Maada Bio of the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), who was elected in 2018 and seeking his second term, and Samura Kamara, the main opposition head of the All People’s Congress (APC) are among the top contenders for the post, according to analysts.

More than 3 million people are registered to vote in the election, according to the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone. Polling stations are expected to open at 7 a.m. local time and close at 5 p.m.

The winning candidate must garner 55% of the vote in the first round to be declared winner or it would go into a runoff within two weeks.

Bio and Kamara both campaigned on the promise to prioritize agriculture and food sustainability as well as economic issues if elected.

During his final rally in the capital Freetown on Tuesday, Bio, 59, called for a peaceful election.

“I want to appeal to everybody, we want peaceful elections. No violence. You have your card, on that day go and vote,” he told his supporters.

Kamara, 72, a former finance and foreign minister, lost to Bio in a 2018 runoff.

On Wednesday, clashes were reported between police and protesters after supporters of the opposition APC accused the electoral authority and its chairman Mohamed Konneh of alleged bias in favor of the ruling party.

Konneh claimed the opposition focused more on attacking the commission he heads than rallying voters.

The protesters were demanding the issuing of a more detailed voter register.

Saturday’s polls will mark the country’s fifth presidential election since the end of a brutal 11-year civil war in which tens of thousands of people were killed more than two decades ago.