Sierra Leone president well ahead in vote count

Freetown, Sierra Leone (AFP):

Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio looked on course for re-election on Monday after the electoral commission said he had a clear lead with 60 percent of the votes counted.

Bio had garnered 55.86 percent of ballots cast, more than the 55 percent required for victory after Saturday’s first round of voting.

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

Final results were expected within 48 hours, said election commission chief Mohamed Kenewui Konneh.

Some 3.4 million people were registered to vote in Saturday’s election.

Twelve men and one woman stood for president, but Bio’s main challenger was Kamara of the All People’s Congress (APC).

Bio, of the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), narrowly beat Kamara in a runoff in 2018.

The president, 59, a former coup leader in the 1990s, has championed education and women’s rights in his first civilian term.

Kamara, 72, a former foreign and finance minister, is facing a protracted trial over allegations that he misappropriated public funds as foreign minister, a case he says is politically motivated.