Incumbent President Bio is ahead in Sierra Leone's disputed vote count

The first results from the Sierra Leone elections show that President Julius Maada Bio is ahead in the polls in the presidential election, with 60 percent of votes counted. 

A voter casts her ballot for the national election at a polling station in Freetown, Sierra Leone, June 24, 2023. © REUTERS - COOPER INVEEN

The electoral commission announced the first partial results on Monday evening, revealing that Julius Maada Bio had garnered 55.86 percent of ballots cast, more than the 55 percent required for victory.

The incumbent's 1,067,666 votes put him ahead of his main rival Samura Kamara, who had 793,751 votes or 41.53 percent, according to the commission. 

The first round of voting took place on Saturday.

On Sunday, the ruling Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) had published in a statement that it was confident of victory.

2023 Saful Elections: EU Ambassador together with other development partners had good meetings with @ECsalone and with @NewSierraLeone . EMBs and civil society observers play an important role in promoting transparent electoral processes. pic.twitter.com/V8XLq5vjcS

— EU in Sierra Leone (@EUinSierraLeone) June 27, 2023

Final results are expected within 48 hours, according to election commission chief Mohamed Kenewui Konneh.

Contested results

However, the results are already being disputed by the opposition All People's Congress (APC).

The party denounced in a statement Monday an alleged lack of inclusiveness, transparency and responsibility by the electoral commission.

It pointed to the lack of information about polling stations and ballots, "overvoting" in some areas, and said it would not "not accept these fake and cooked up results".

All People's Congress (APC) presidential candidate Samura Kamara also reported violence at his party's headquarters, in the capital Freetown, including live bullets fired at his office.

Some other incidents were reported on Sunday, such as attacks on polling agents and violence near several polling centres in Freetown.

• Clashes at opposition headquarters overshadow Sierra Leone elections

During a Monday evening press conference, European Union observers reported a lack of transparency and communication by the electoral authority, which had led to mistrust in the electoral process.

They also received reports of violent incidents in six regions, including those involving live ammunition in three districts.   

 (With newswires)