2023 Sierra Leonean general election

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2023 Sierra Leonean general election
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Presidential election
  Julius Maada Bio USDA 2021.jpg Samura Kamara 2014.jpg
Nominee Julius Maada Bio Samura Kamara
Party SLPP APC
Running mate Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh Chernor Maju Bah
Popular vote1,566,9321,148,262
Percentage56.17%41.16%
President before election

Julius Maada Bio
SLPP

Elected President

Julius Maada Bio
SLPP

General elections were held in Sierra Leone on 24 June 2023 to elect the president and members of Parliament. [1] [2] Incumbent president Julius Maada Bio was re-elected with 56% of the vote and the Sierra Leone People's Party won 81 seats in Parliament compared to the main opposition party, the All People's Congress, which won 54 seats. The result was contested by the All People's Congress, which demanded a rerun, citing "glaring irregularities". [3] [4] European election observers stated that there were "statistical inconsistencies" in the presidential results published, with the European Union Election Observation Mission saying that the electoral commission should "publish disaggregated results data per polling station to allow for public scrutiny of the results." Unless that happened, it said that transparency was compromised. [5] The Carter Center echoed these sentiments, as did the United States, Britain, Ireland, Germany, France and the European Union. [5] [6]

Contents

Electoral system

President

The President of Sierra Leone is elected using a modified version of the two-round system, with a candidate having to receive more than 55% of the vote in the first round to be elected. If this is not done, a second round must be held two weeks after the announcement of the first-round result.

Parliament

Members of Parliament were elected in 16 multi-member constituencies (of between four and sixteen seats) coterminous with the Districts of Sierra Leone by proportional representation via the largest remainder method (with the Hare quota), [7] [8] after a presidential decree by Julius Maada Bio in October 2022 abolished the first-past-the-post system that had been used since 2008. [9] Independent candidates are eligible to run and win seats if they exceed the quota required for one in a constituency. A total of 14 additional seats (one per district, excluding the two districts of the Western Area) are not elected, and are reserved for paramount chiefs.

The Supreme Court of Sierra Leone ruled that the decree changing the electoral system was constitutional in a case brought by opposition MP Abdul Kargbo and local councillor Hakiratu Maxwell-Caulker. [10]

DistrictElected
Seats		Paramount
Chiefs
Bo 121
Bombali 81
Bonthe 51
Falaba 41
Kailahun 101
Kambia 61
Karene 51
Kenema 121
Koinadugu 41
Kono 101
Moyamba 61
Port Loko 101
Pujehun 71
Tonkolili 101
Western Rural 100
Western Urban 160
Subtotal13514
Total149

Results

President

Incumbent president Julius Maada Bio was re-elected with 56% of the vote, a result which was contested by the main opposition party, the All People's Congress, which demanded a rerun, citing "glaring irregularities". [3]

CandidateRunning matePartyVotes%
Julius Maada Bio Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh Sierra Leone People's Party 1,566,93256.17
Samura Kamara Chernor Maju Bah All People's Congress 1,148,26241.16
Mohamed BahMariatu Saudatu Turay National Democratic Alliance 21,6200.77
Charles Margai Tony Hindolo Songa People's Movement for Democratic Change 16,0120.57
Nabieu KamaraSaidu Mannah Peace and Liberation Party 7,7170.28
Abdulahi SaccohAlice Pyne Revolutionary United Front 6,7960.24
Prince CokerIbrahim Jalloh People's Democratic Party 5,9810.21
Iye KakayAmbrose KobiAlliance Democratic Party4,3360.16
Saa KabutaGabriel Samuka United National People's Party 4,0590.15
Beresford WilliamsKadija BanguraRepublic National Independent Party2,6920.10
Mohamed JonjoKaday JohnsonCitizen's Democratic Party2,3670.08
Mohamed Sowa-TurayOlivette WalkerUnited Democratic Movement1,6650.06
Jonathan SandyKomba MbawaNational Unity and Reconciliation Party1,3690.05
Total2,789,808100.00
Valid votes2,789,80899.61
Invalid/blank votes10,8830.39
Total votes2,800,691100.00
Registered voters/turnout3,374,25883.00
Source: Candidates ECSL

Parliament

The Sierra Leone People's Party won 81 seats in Parliament while the All People's Congress won 54 seats. The Sierra Leone People's Party did much better in the Kono District than it did in the previous election, winning seven of ten seats in this election after winning none in the district in the last election. It also made gains in northern and western Sierra Leone. [4]

Sierra Leone Parliament 2023.svg
PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Sierra Leone People's Party 1,578,25956.6881+32
All People's Congress 1,113,88240.0054–14
National Grand Coalition 18,1690.650–4
People's Movement for Democratic Change 17,3900.6200
National Democratic Alliance 3,8190.1400
Revolutionary United Front 1,5020.0500
Peace and Liberation Party 1,1310.0400
National Unity and Reconciliation Party1,0000.0400
Republic National Independent Party5600.0200
People's Democratic Party 5160.0200
Independents48,4641.740−3
Paramount chiefs140
Total2,784,692100.00149+3
Valid votes2,784,69299.60
Invalid/blank votes11,1890.40
Total votes2,795,881100.00
Registered voters/turnout3,374,25882.86
Source: Sierra Loaded, Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone

Conduct

European election observers stated that there were "statistical inconsistencies" in the presidential results published, with the European Union Election Observation Mission calling for the electoral commission to "publish disaggregated results data per polling station to allow for public scrutiny of the results," without which it said transparency was compromised. It said that there were discrepancies between the first and second batches of presidential results. [5] The Carter Center echoed these sentiments, as did the United States, Britain, Ireland, Germany, France and the European Union. [5] [6] Sierra Leone's chief electoral commissioner, Mohamed Kenewui Konneh, said that it would take time to upload the disaggregated results to the internet. [5]

The election itself was conducted largely peacefully according to observers from the Commonwealth of Nations, [11] although one female nurse was killed at the headquarters of the All People's Congress after government forces fired shots and tear gas as voters awaited the announcement of the results. Other unconfirmed reports stated that others were also hurt or killed in the north of the country. [12]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Thomas, Abdul Rashid (2 September 2021). "Sierra Leone's 2023 general and presidential elections will be fiercely fought by APC and SLPP". The Sierra Leone Telegraph. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  2. ↑ "ECSL Assures Sierra Leoneans of Credible Election in 2023". Africa Press. 4 April 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  3. 1 2 Fofana, Umaru (1 July 2023). "Sierra Leone's main opposition party demands rerun of general election". Reuters. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  4. 1 2 Fofana, Umaru (1 July 2023). "Sierra Leone ruling party wins 60% of parliamentary seats in contested vote". Reuters.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Sierra Leone election observers flag 'statistical inconsistencies'". Reuters. 29 June 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  6. 1 2 "Carter Center Expresses Concern About Transparency of the Tabulation Process in Sierra Leone Elections". The Carter Center. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  7. ↑ The Public Elections Act, 2022
  8. ↑ THE PUBLIC ELECTIONS (LOCAL COUNCILS PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION SYSTEM) REGULATIONS, 2022
  9. ↑ Sierra Leone plans controversial return to old voting system BBC News, 21 October 2022
  10. ↑ Thomas, Abdul Rashid (27 January 2023). "Sierra Leone will go to the polls in June under proportional representation – Supreme Court rules". The Sierra Leone Telegraph. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  11. ↑ "Commonwealth observers find Sierra Leone elections largely peaceful, but urge full transparency". Commonwealth. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  12. ↑ Johnson, Sarah (28 June 2023). "Woman killed at opposition party HQ during Sierra Leone elections". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 29 June 2023.
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