By Chris Muhizi for MCN Monday July 3rd/2023.
According to results announced by the head of the electoral commission, Mohamed Kenewui Konneh, the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) has won the legislative elections that took place on June 24.
The opposition All People’s Congress (APC) gained 54 seats against the SLPP’s 81.
The APC declared that it would not take part in “any level of governance” due to “glaring irregularities” and claimed that altered results would ensure the SLPP’s victory at all levels.
Mayor of Freetown Aki-Sawyerr, one of the key opposition personalities, kept hold of the strategic mayorship.
After incumbent President Julius Maada Bio was proclaimed the winner and immediately inaugurated in for a second term in the West African country, the largest opposition party in Sierra Leone demanded a rerun of the presidential elections.
The chairman of the election commission was among the people whose resignation the opposition APC party demanded after accusing them of working together with Bio’s party.
The APC’s declaration comes as pressure on the electoral commission to make its tabulation of the election results more transparent grows.
Other observers have emphasized that the counting and tabulation process lacked transparency, despite the fact that regional observers like the African Union and ECOWAS certified the elections free and fair. The electoral commission has come under pressure from the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, and France in particular to show results from each polling place.
“What resulted in the reckless announcement of fraudulent election results on June 25 was not just a shameless theft of the votes of the suffering masses who needed change, it represents the biggest threat to our democracy, unity, and survival as a nation,” it stated.
Additional source: Reuters.