Polls closed at 5pm yesterday across Sierra Leone in a
voting process fraught with delays in many parts of the West African country.
Long queues were reported in several parts of the country
after 5 pm due to delays on the part of the electoral management body.
12 candidates including 2018 frontrunner, Samura Kamara are
aiming to defeat incumbent, President Julius Bio, to lead the country for the
next five years.
Voting began at 7am according to the Sierra Leone Electoral Commission.
Hours before the official start time, local media reported long
queues were formed at dozens of polling station.
New Sierra Leone, a coalition of civil society organisations
monitoring the elections claimed that only 72% of polling stations closed on
the official time.
Sorting and counting of votes began in many parts of the country where
polls closed.
The EC announced on Sunday morning that tallying of votes
had begun as the electoral process continues to determine the winner of the
2023 election.
Meanwhile, the opposition All People’s Congress released
a statement thanking the international community for their steadfastness in
ensuring a free, fair and credible elections.
This is the fifth election since the Sierra Leone civil war
ended in 2002.
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