Sierra Leone Elections: 3 Million Voters Expected at Polls

Sierra Leoneans go to the polls to select a new president, parliament and local council positions. The outgoing president has held the position for a decade.

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The polls are scheduled to open at 7:00 a.m. across more than 7,000 centers, where lines were formed long before the start of the voting process. More than three million eligible voters are expected to turn out to for the elections in the West African country, which has a population of just over 7 million.

The major candidates are former Finance Minister Dr. Samura Kamara of the All People’s Congress (APC) party, former military strongman Julius Maada Bio of Sierra Leone People’s Party and former United Nations Industrial Development Organization’s chief Dr. Kandeh Yumkella of the National Grand Coalition.

The European Union (EU) Election Observation Mission has deployed 40 observers to cover more than 16 districts in the African Nation. Former Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama leads a 16-member Commonwealth observer group. Mahama called for a nonviolent election process, after serving as a witness to a ceremony in which the candidates signed a document pledging peace.

Outgoing President Ernest Koroma of the ruling APC will demit office after a second and final term, leaving the position open for the 16 candidates who will contest the elections.

Koroma is exiting office with a somewhat favorable scorecard, having been lauded for electricity and infrastructural development reform as well as championing human rights issues. However, the opposition has accused him of neglecting the economy, job creation, education and health.

On Saturday, Koroma – who will remain party chair – commented that APC's Kamara will not be subject to any interference, adding that the candidate “is definitely going to be himself,” according to an AFP report.

“I’m campaigning so that our APC party will remain in power to continue the good work we have started,” Koroma told a crowd of supporters on the campaign trail.

Sierra Leonean president defended a ban that has been placed on vehicles without a government pass. “All of it is intelligence driven. The police who are in charge of the security of people during elections have already been informed that people have intentions of moving in with machetes and others to disrupt the process,” Koroma said.