By Olusegun Adeniyi
Sierra Leoneans go to the polls today to elect their president, members of parliament and council officials. But most attention is on the presidential election that pitches the incumbent President Julius Maada Bio against 12 others, including Dr. Samura Kamara whom he defeated five years ago after a runoff poll in a country that survived a brutal civil war less than two decades ago.
For the third time, according to Mohamed Kerewui Konneh, Chairman, Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone, the people will participate in four elections on the same date and time. Besides the presidency, elections are also being held for 135 parliamentary seats, 22 Mayor/Chairmen of Council and 493 councilors. Independent candidates can contest in any of these elections except that of the presidency.
Although there are 13 presidential candidates in the race, the contest is essentially between President Bio, 59, of the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) and Kamara, 72, of the opposition All People’s Congress (APC). In 2018, Bio ran as the opposition candidate to defeat Kamara who was candidate of the then ruling party. The latter is now the main opposition candidate.
There were fears during the week that the elections could descend into violence. “We are concerned by reports of election-related violence and aggression across the country, in the run-up to the elections. We urge everyone to refrain from violence, respect the political choices of one another, and to reject the language of division and hate,” according to a statement by the United Kingdom, United States. Ireland, Germany, and the European Union Delegations.
On Wednesday, violence broke out around the headquarters of the main opposition APC in Freetown, leading to the death of one person. “In a spirit of partnership, we reiterate our Support to transparent, inclusive, credible and peaceful elections that reflect the will of the people,” the delegates said in the statement signed by Lisa Chesney MBE, British High Commissioner, David Reimer, U.S. Ambassador, Claire Buckley, Irish Ambassador and Jens Kraus-Massé, German Ambassador.
According to figures from the electoral commission, over 3.3 million Sierra Leoneans are registered to vote in the 2023 elections, an increase of about 200,000 from 2018. Like in previous elections, voting will be by secret ballot system in 11,832 polling stations across 16 districts of the country. After the elections, the ballot papers will go through five stages: screening, reunification, reconciliation, sorting, and counting before the results are declared.
In a very competitive presidential election, there are usually two rounds. To secure victory, a presidential candidate is required to secure 55 per cent of the total votes cast in the first round of votes. If no candidate achieves that, a runoff poll will be conducted within 14 days between the two leading candidates. Winner will then be determined by a simple majority.
In the March 2018 general election, President Ernest Bai Koroma was constitutionally ineligible, having served the maximum two-terms of 10 years in office. He endorsed Kamara, his Minister of Finance as candidate of the ruling APC. No presidential candidate received the mandatory 55 per cent of total votes cast. Bio led others with 41 per cent of the total votes cast followed by Kamara with 40 per cent. Bio was subsequently elected with 51.8 per cent of the vote in the second round of the poll which was adjudged by international observers as “orderly, free and fair.”
Most analysts predict that this presidential election may not produce an outright winner and that like 2018, it may go to a runoff. Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan is in Freetown as Head of the West African Elders Forum (WAEF) 2023 Election Mission to Sierra Leone while former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is Chair of the Commonwealth Observer Group (COG).
Supporters of the incumbent are upbeat that he would be re-elected. Born on 2 May 1964, Bio is a retired Brigadier who returned Sierra Leone to a democratically elected government after just 10 weeks in power as the military head of state from 16 January to 29 March 1996. He handed power to Ahmad Tejan Kabbah of the SLPP who won the presidential election.
Upon retiring from the military in 1996, Bio moved to the United States where he was granted political asylum. He returned to Sierra Leone a decade later and in 2012, contested the presidential election on the platform of the SLPP. He received 37 per cent of the vote as he was defeated by the then incumbent President Koroma who won 58 per cent of the votes.
His main challenger this time is a veteran politician who touts economic credentials. A doctorate degree holder in Economics from Bangor University, Wales, United Kingdom, Kamara held several positions under President Kabbah. From 2007 to 2009, he was Governor of the Bank of Sierra Leone; from 2009 to 2013, Minister of Finance and Economic Development and from 2013 to 2017, he was Minister of Foreign Affairs.
However, Kamara, 72, has legal challenges. In December 2021, he was charged with misappropriating more than $2.5 million in public funds in a case tied to planned refurbishments to a New York consulate while he was foreign minister. The High Court has rejected a “no-case submission” presented by the APC’s lawyers and asked Kamara to put up a defence case against the corruption allegations.
