Sierra Leone’s opposition All People’s Congress on Saturday kept its lead with more than 80% of the votes counted after last week’s elections, but fell short of absolute majority, an official tally showed.
About 2,6-million people were eligible to choose a new president and a 112-seat Parliament as the country sets its eyes on a new chapter following one of the world’s most brutal civil war that ended six years ago.
With results from 5 015 of the 6 171 polling stations released, opposition leader Ernest Koroma (53) had about 41% of the ballots tallied so far. His closest rival, Vice-President Solomon Berewa (69), of the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), trailed with about 35%.
If neither takes the 55% majority required to win in the first round, a run-off will be called. With less than 20% of the results still outstanding and none of the hopefuls anywhere close to the 55% mark, observers said it looks likely that the country is heading to a second round of voting.
Sierra Leone voted a week ago for a new president and a Parliament in elections closely watched as a test of whether the former British colony has put the violence of its 1991-2001 conflict behind it and embraced democracy.
The elections are only the second since the West African country emerged from one of the most brutal wars in modern history and the first after the departure of about 17 500 United Nations peacekeepers in 2005.
The war, funded by ”blood diamonds”, left about 120 000 people dead and many more mutilated and traumatised.
Turnout on the results published so far stood at a record 75,6%.
The All People’s Congress, which has already claimed a majority in the 112-elected-seat Parliament, has obtained six lawmakers, while the SLPP has four, according to the partial results.
Charles Margai (61) — leader of another opposition party, the People’s Movement for Democratic Change, a breakaway from the SLPP — is in third position with about 13% of the ballots. In the event of a second round, Margai is seen as the kingmaker.
The vote was to choose a successor to President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah (75), who has completed the two terms allowed by the Muslim majority country’s Constitution. — Sapa-AFP