Outgoing President Julius Maada Bio was re-elected in the first round for a second term at the head of Sierra Leone with 56.17% of the vote, said the head of the electoral commission on Tuesday, 27 June 2023.
“By virtue of the powers granted to me, I hereby certify that Julius Maada Bio is elected president in the election of 24 June 2023,” said Mohamed Kenewui Konneh, with applause, at a press conference in Freetown, according to AFP. Mr. Bio’s main opponent, Samura Kamara, comes second with 41.16% of the vote, according to the final results of the authority in charge of the elections.
Immediately, the president’s supporters, dressed in green, the colour of the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), celebrated their champion by honking horns and tapping pots and pans in downtown Freetown. Others blew in vuvuzelas and sang “Maada Bio, Maada Bio”. I am happy that Bio has won, we want it to stabilize the economy and create jobs,’ said SLPP activist Susan Myers, 34.
The day before, partial results giving the outgoing president more than 55% of the vote, synonymous with victory in the first round, had been rejected by the opposition, which criticized the lack of inclusiveness, transparency and accountability of the electoral commission.
“Total rejection”
On Tuesday, before the announcement of the final results, Mr. Kamara reaffirmed in a statement “the total rejection by the APC” of the partial results, “manipulated and unverified”, according to them. The vote, which took place on Saturday, was generally calm, although some violent incidents were reported during the vote and during the closing and counting, observers noted.
Observers from the European Union considered that the lack of transparency and communication of the electoral authority had led to mistrust in the electoral process. On Sunday evening, a woman was killed at the opposition headquarters while security forces tried to disperse the crowd.
Some 3.4 million people were asked on Saturday to choose between 13 candidates for the presidential election, an election that looked like revenge in 2018 between Mr. Bio, a retired 59-year-old military man who was running for a second term, and Mr. Kamura, a 72-year-old technocrat.
In 2018, Mr. Bio, candidate of the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), won the second round with 51.8% of the vote. During his first term, Mr. Bio championed education and women’s rights. He said he wanted to favour agriculture and reduce his country’s dependence on food imports.
In an address to the nation after the first partial results, the outgoing president called on the Sierra Leoneans to remain calm and to respect the law. Mr. Kamara, Minister of Finance and then Minister of Foreign Affairs before Mr. Bio’s arrival in 2018, said he wanted to restore confidence in national economic institutions and attract foreign investors.
