Sierra Leone's Bio sworn in for second term as opposition claims fraud
3 Min Read
The country's opposition party accuses the electoral commission of rigging the elections.
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President of Sierra Leone Julius Maada Bio waves to supporters as he arrives for the final campaign rally in Freetown, Sierra Leone, June 20, 2023. (AFP)
Sierra Leone's President Julius Maada Bio has been sworn in on Tuesday after emerging victorious in what the opposition described as a "non-credible election".
The President will serve a second term in office as he faces the huge challenge of providing jobs and financial security to citizens who are suffering from a crippling economic crisis.
The country's electoral commission announced that Bio had received 56% of the total vote, while his rival Samura Kamara came in second place with 41% of the vote. The commission further announced that 83% out of the 3.4 million eligible voters participated.
"I categorically reject the outcome so announced by the electoral commission," Kamara tweeted.
My compatriots. We have heard the unfortunate announcement of the elections results for the June 24 Presidential elections by the Chief Electoral Commissioner Mr Konneh. It is a sad day for our beloved country. It is a frontal attack on our fledgling democracy. These results are…
— SamuraKamara2023 (@samurakamara201) June 27, 2023
On Monday, Kamara's All People's Congress (APC) condemned the lack of inclusivity, transparency, and responsibility by the electoral commission as they disputed the results of the election.
APC criticized the commission for not providing enough information on the origins of the ballots, which were being counted. The party stressed that it "will not accept these fake and cooked-up results."
Later, the party clarified that its claims were based on supposed "overvoting" in some districts as it confirmed that it "continues to reject" the "fabricated results" and "reaffirms our victory."
The European Union's observers claimed that the elections commission lacked transparency and communication leading to mistrust in the process, as they further alleged that violence broke out in seven polling stations.
On the other hand supporters of President Bio welcomed the results, as Susan Myers, one of the voters said, "I'm happy Bio won, we want him to fix the economy and create jobs."
"Maada Bio has provided for us the free quality education, he's constructed so many bridges for us and he is fighting the corruption in the country," Abdulrahim Bah told AFP.
Bio led a successful coup in 1996 as he later ran for elections in 2018 against Kamara to mark his first presidential term. Back then, the election, which included a run-off, was deemed free and fair by observers.
During his term, the President reversed the policies of his predecessor, which he accused of corruption and mismanagement, as he also pushed for women's rights and education for all.
