Bio re-elected as president of Sierra Leone, survives run-off | Election Information

The Electoral Fee says that Julius Madabayo received 56.17 p.c of the votes, the challenger Samora Kumara rejected the outcomes.

President Julius Mada Bayo has received re-election in Sierra Leone’s hard-fought presidential vote, the Electoral Fee confirmed, however his foremost problem was the push to overturn the outcomes.

Chief Electoral Commissioner Muhammed Kanui Kana mentioned on Tuesday that Baio, 59, was re-elected with 56.17 p.c of Saturday’s vote. His arch-rival Samura Kumara of the All Individuals’s Congress (APC) completed second with 41.16 p.c of the vote.

“By the powers invested in me … I hereby certify that Bio Julius Mada … [is] A duly elected president,” somebody mentioned.

Successful candidates should obtain 55 p.c of the vote, and Baio narrowly escaped a second spherical.

Kumara, 72, mentioned he “clearly” rejected the findings. “It is a unhappy day for our beloved nation. It is an assault on our thriving democracy,” he posted on Twitter.

“These outcomes usually are not credible and I categorically reject the outcomes introduced by the Election Fee,” he wrote.

my countrymen Now we have heard the unhappy announcement of the election outcomes for the June 24 presidential election by the Chief Election Commissioner, Mr. Konya. In the present day is a tragic day for our beloved nation. It’s an advance on our superior democracy. These are the outcomes…

— SamuraKamara2023 (@samurakamara201) 27 June 2023

The Electoral Fee’s announcement comes after supporters of each events claimed victory in current days, with Kumara mentioned to be on an “irreversible path to a landslide victory”. He additionally alleged that safety forces opened hearth on a celebration at his social gathering headquarters on Sunday, although police denied firing stay bullets.

Bayou had defeated Kumara, a former overseas minister, within the 2018 elections.

The vote tally had already been disputed by the APC, which in an announcement on Monday condemned the dearth of participation, transparency and accountability by the Electoral Fee.

The social gathering pointed to a lack of know-how about ballots coming in from polling stations or districts.

It had mentioned that “we won’t settle for these pretend and pretend outcomes”.

In a follow-up assertion, he blamed “over-voting” in some areas and mentioned the social gathering continued to reject “conclusive outcomes” and “verify our victory”.

EU observers, at a information convention on Monday, mentioned the dearth of transparency and communication by the electoral authority led to mistrust within the electoral course of.

The screens mentioned they noticed violence at seven polling stations throughout voting hours and at three others throughout the closing and counting phases.

When the outcomes had been introduced, there have been fears that if not one of the 13 candidates received, there might be additional unrest.

The US additionally expressed concern over the dearth of transparency within the counting course of.

Any citizen who can legally vote can file a problem within the Supreme Courtroom inside seven days of the election outcomes being introduced, Kanha mentioned.

Baio addressed the nation after the provisional outcomes had been launched on Monday and requested residents to stay calm.

The June 24 vote was the fifth for the reason that finish of Sierra Leone’s civil warfare in 2002 and was held amid excessive unemployment and inflation, in addition to more and more violent rhetoric.

Baio, the chief of a former coup within the Nineties, championed training and girls’s rights in his first civilian time period, nonetheless, was overturned by rising disillusionment. Economic difficulties.

Rising costs fueled unusually violent protests final yr, and the APC was banking on the cost-cutting disaster to win votes.

In keeping with the World Financial institution, the financial disaster has hampered hopes of restoration in Sierra Leone, the place widespread unemployment persists and greater than half the inhabitants lives in poverty.

Baio confronted growing criticism due to the weak financial situations that Kumara was decided to enhance.

Almost 60 p.c of Sierra Leone’s greater than 7 million folks face poverty, with youth unemployment among the many highest in West Africa.