Global Courant
KIGALI, Rwanda
In Sierra Leone, voters will go to the polls in the country’s general elections on Saturday to elect the president, lawmakers and local councils.
In the West African country, 13 candidates are running for president.
Julius Maada Bio, incumbent Chairman of the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), elected in 2018 and seeking a second term, and Samura Kamara, head of the main opposition of the All People’s Congress (APC), are among the most nominated for the post. , according to analysts.
According to the Sierra Leone Election Commission, more than 3 million people are registered to vote in elections. The polling stations are expected to open at 07:00 local time and close at 17:00.
The winning candidate must receive 55% of the votes in the first round to be declared the winner, otherwise the second round will take place within two weeks.
Bio and Kamara campaigned with the promise to prioritize economic issues alongside agriculture and food sustainability if elected.
At his last rally in the capital, Freetown, on Tuesday, 59-year-old Bio called for a peaceful election.
Shout out to everyone, we want peaceful elections. No violence. You have a card, go and vote that day,” he said.
Kamara, 72, a former finance and foreign minister, lost to Bio in the 2018 runoff election.
On Wednesday, clashes were reported between police and protesters after opposition APC supporters accused the electoral authority and its chairman, Mohamed Konneh, of being biased in favor of the ruling party.
Konneh claimed that the opposition was more focused on attacking the commission he chaired than on recruiting.
Protesters were demanding a more detailed electoral roll.
Saturday’s polls will mark the country’s fifth presidential election since the end of an 11-year brutal civil war that killed tens of thousands more than two decades ago.
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