Sierra Leone Telegraph: 27 June 2023:
Julius Maada Bio has been sworn in as President of Sierra Leone for a second term by the Chief Justice, immediately after the National Electoral Commission declared Bio the winner with 56.17% of the votes, against the main opposition APC candidate – Samura Kamara scoring 41.16%.
The ECSL announcement comes after three days of political tension and serious violence in some parts of the country, especially in opposition strongholds where security forces shot and killed several people.
According to the ECSL, Julius Maada Bio won 1,566,932 of the total votes cast, against Samura’s 1,148,262.
There were 2,789,808 total votes cast across all polling stations in the country, with 10,883 invalid votes counted.
This is the second time Samura Kamara is losing presidential election to Julius Maada Bio. In 2018, Samura lost by 3 percentage points. Today, he has lost by a massive 15 percentage points.
As president Bio begins his second term in office, he now faces the huge challenge of governing a massively divided nation that is not at ease with itself.
Does president Bio have the temperament and skill to bring the nation together to heal, after an election that has created such huge divisions in the country across tribal and regional lines?
If the last five years are anything to go by, then the next five years will be just as chaotic, divisive and bloody, with no hope in sight of a better Sierra Leone, economically, socially, and politically.
But where does another five years of Maada Bio now leaves the main opposition APC party, after losing the presidential election by 15 percentage points?
The APC will need to take a look at itself in the mirror and ask whether it likes what it sees. In the last five years, APC has been dogged by infighting, lack of strong leadership, poor planning, and an endless court battle for the heart and soul of the party.
The APC party needs to go back to the drawing board and rebuild its support base across the regions, especially in the south and east of the country.
The ruling SLPP has shown how violently brutal it can be when faced with an opposition. Its use of state machinery, including the judiciary and security forces to muzzle and destroy any opposition is now on record for posterity. Since 2018, over one hundred people, have been killed by security forces under Bio’s watch. This trend is expected to continue.
So what does another five years of Julius Maada Bio mean for the people of Sierra Leone? More of the same, if not worse.
The economy is in serious decline; unemployment – especially youth unemployment is at record high; the Leone has lost over 60% of its value since 2018; inflation – especially food inflation is running at over 40%; foreign investors are shying away from Sierra Leone; and government borrowing is at a record high. The Bio-government will need to continue relying on foreign aid to keep the country going.
This is President Bio being sworn-in today for another five years in office:
Congratulations President Julius Maada Wonnie Bio. You have once again proved that you are “TOK N DO”. May the almighty continue to bless and protect you.
“ WHO GOD BLESS NO MAN CURSE”.
To those currently reveling in their ill-gotten victory…these timeless words are for you;” Power is a conceit which eventually reveals our limitations…it blinds us to our inevitable downfall;” Enough said! May God Bless Mama Salone.
A new low of lows for our country. It seems it is now an open season of everything goes paopa- frog-marching opposition parliamentarians to create an artificial majority and now forcing the electoral commissioner at either gunpoint or scare him with a nere Bo School small boy drilling threat to conjure up a magic 56% number and declare Bio a winner. Where will these precedents end? Konneh na man! He called the vote at 56% on the 60% mark and 56% on the100% mark. We all better start playing lotto with the magical Konneh’s favourite number 56.Which copycats will not be smiling wryly and eyeing that master stroke for the future? Doing a Konneh will now becone part of our parlance In any case our democratic aspirations are in tatters.
All along people thought the coinage PAOPA is all about alleviating poverty in Sierra Leone. It is definitely not as 2023 was the year Sierra Leone was in the bottom 3 of the world’s poverty and happiness indexes. If the true meaning of PAOPA has not sunk in yet, you guys better wake up from your slumbers The President will now feel invincible, omnipresent, omnipotent and all-conquering.He knows that Samura – to borrow a characterisation from Charles Margai- is a gentleman and not a politican and will just roll over. Now expect Bio to eye a third-term and be a wanna-be latter-day Pa Shaki -Pass I die – notwithstanding the rugged and rough West African terrain he is operating and want to bestride like a collossus compared to the pacified and docile 70s and 80s West Africa .
Only the Almighty knows whether all gloves and bets are now off. Whatever happens; it is the long-suffering people of Sierra Leone are the losers.
Based on the official presidential result announced by the Electoral Commisioner, president Bio won all the districts in the South-east of the country (Bo, Bonthe, Moyamba, Pujehun, Kenema, Kono and Kailahun) as expected. He easily won all those South-eastern Districts by overwhelming majorities as expected. Kenema and Bo Districts have the two largest population, based on registered voters, after the Western Area Urban District (Freetown). Samura Kamara did very poorly in all the Districts the South-east. Samura Kamara and the APC failed to make even significant inroads in the SLPP strongholds in the South-east. Based on the results announced by the Electoion Commisioner, Samura Kamara won all the districts in the north (Port Loko, Kambia, Karine, Bombali, Tonkolili and Koinadugu, except Falaba). Bio performed very poorly in the northern Districts of Port Loko, Tonkolili, Karine, and Bombali, but Bio unsurprisingly reveived large minorities of the votes in Kambia and Koinadugu District and he even won Falaba District. Based on my study of Sierra Leone”s demographics make ups and its politics, i learned that the SLPP generally does significantly better in Kambia and Koinadugu Districts in the North. In fact the SLPP generally and historically has been competitive in Koinadugu and Kambia Districts politically. I was not surprised at all president Bio won Falaba District (which was previously part of Koinadugu District) as Falaba ethnic makeup is very similar to Koinadugu District, but Falaba District generally leans even more to the SLPP than Koinadugu District. Koinadugu District generally leans to the APC but with significant SLPP support as well. Now let’s look at the Western Area: As expected by most people, Samura Kamara won the Western Area Urban District (Freetown) by majority votes but as also expected president Bio received significantly large minority of the votes in Western Area Urban District. Samura Kamara won the Western Area Rural District as well as most people expected, but president Bio received a large minority of the vote in the Rural District as well. Overall president Bio incresed his votes and made inroads in part of the North, while holding on to the large minority supports SLPP generally and historically get in the Western Area Urban District (Freetown) and the Western Area Rural District. Overal Samura Kamara received an overwhelmingly less vote in the South-east and he did not make any inroads in the South-east. Congratulations to president Julius Maada Bio on winning reelection. I pray those people fail in their missions of spreading hate, violence, tribalism, intolerance and bigotry against president Bio. Let continue to enjoy peace and stability in Sierra Leone and let’s reject hate, tribalism, violence, and bigotry.
The people who vote decide nothing; the people who count the votes decide everything.
Nonetheless, times have changed and we should no longer wait for results as they come from the electoral body.
Most African countries have made great strides where Presidential votes are counted, verified, tabulated at the polling center and directly sent to the central tallying center untouched and simultaneously transmitted live on television sets for public scrutiny.
A country like Sierra Leone with less than 4 million registered voters should have completed everything in less than 24 hours after the voting exercise ended.
The voters are registered biometrically leaving no room for speculation.
Now that the election is done and dusted, the loser(s) should tame their supporters and use legal systems to file their petitions if any.
For the winner, he is duty-bound to heal the broken people and unite the nation to offset the people from the electoral mode.
What unites them as Sierra Leoneans is bigger than what divides them as supporters of their respective political parties.
Let majority have their say and minority to have their way.
Good luck from Kenya.
The people who vote decide nothing; the people who count the votes decide everything.
Nonetheless, times have changed and we should no longer wait for results as they come from the electoral body.
Most African countries have made great strides where Presidential votes are counted verified, tabulated at the polling center and directly sent the central tallying center untouched and simultaneously transmitted live on television sets for public scrutiny.
A country like Sierra Leone with less than 4 million registered voters should have completed everything in less than 24 hours after the voting exercise ended.
The voters are registered biometrically leaving no room for speculation.
Now that the election is done and dusted, the loser(s) should tame their supporters and use legal systems to file their petitions if any.
For the winner, he is duty-bound to heal the broken people and unite the nation to offset the people from the electoral mode.
What unites them as Sierra Leoneans is bigger than what divides them as supporters of their respective political parties.
Let majority have their say and minority to have their way.
Good luck from Kenya.
A new season in Gehenna dawns as a failed sanguinary civilian dictatorial regime is re-elected, paving the way inevitably (and deliberately or not) for an even uglier, bloodier, more muscular, military one. Fellow country men and women, it is time to tighten further your seat belts. The Paopa regime is still with us and about to take us on another unending, vertiginous ride through the ever-familiar death roads of wilful national self-destruction. These are roads where the spectacle of brothers killing brothers and brothers killing sisters is de rigueur. Is the way. Remains our way. The way of life in an irredeemably corrupt, disunited, violent, undemocratic polity. Ma Shaa Allah. Amina Yarabi.
PURE COUP D’ÉTAT AGAINST THE RESILIENT SUFFERING PEOPLE OF SIERRA LEONE. YOU ARE A JOKE.
Bio is rogue so-called president only for the gullible and fools. For what I know so far, Presidential elect and designate is Dr. Samura Matthew Wilson kamara. Bio will not be allowed to proceed with his criminal cartel, because he’s not the legitimate president of Sierra Leone at all.
Dictatorship, tyranny, nor the wilful act of imposition upon the poor suffering people, will never be permitted nor allowed to succeed. This man is trying to create some artificial semblance of mr strong man of Sierra Leone, but he is naive, Bio don’t know Sierra Leone very well.
Sierra Leonean you think what Bio did is correct & infact, it’s a slap, or scar in the conscience of all peaceful loving Sierra Leonean. Bio for peace & unity, please Hand over power to the legitimate president of the republic of Sierra Leone, Dr. Samura Kamara the duly elected president of the republic Sierra Leone.
Finally, I am now totally convinced that Sierra Leone is still not yet prepared to move forward constructively towards amiable, sustainable progress; The wicked, evil, schemes, and dubious conniving of this SLPP government in their inordinate quest to deviously hold on to political power knows no limit it seems; Five long years of outrageous incompetence, and our beggarly, hungry Sierra Leone is still as wretched and as miserable as ever; The blind stumbles and falls…but still insists on leading the blind; He wrestles in cursed darkness of abject inadequacy as he strives to lead a timid, depraved nation…yet he is totally oblivious of such a glaring fact; So so heartbreaking and sad! Folks, the time has now come to shed copious tears for Mama Salone!
Thank you for voicing your opinion in a FREELY democratic state..May God continues to allow us to RESPECTFULLY voice our opinions with out FEAR of RETALIATION. I also commend the newspaperfor reporting the news. There are very few elections held in the world which are completely FREE of mistakes, devoid of discrepancies, but if the OVERALL conduct of the elections was good,fairly good or satisfactory, then the State goes with that and the Electoral commissions puts those “mistakes” in to room for improvement to work on as to avoid repeating the same mistakes in future elections. Now even though I don’t agree with one or two of your speculations about the elections, however, I do FIRMLY agreed with your assessments of the APC lack of inclusion especially in the south and Eastern areas of the country. Where as SLPP made sure that they made IN ROADSin to the hearts of the people of areas where they lack more voters and supporters. That was a well thought out STRATEGY on the of the SLPP because the Presidential ELECTIONS is about the NATION AS A WHOLE and NOT FACTIONS of different parts of the country and definitely NOT about ethnicities. When President is addressing the nation or representing the nation abroad he does so as the PRESIDENT of the Republic of Sierra Leone and that includes the north, south, East and western areas regardless of how the people voted. Now let us PRAY that you all will support him to bring the country together for the GOOD of the people..Most presidents and their families will never really suffer after they left offices, except if something terrible happened, but if the country does not come together and HEALS, but allows POLITICS to continue to divide them, then the PEOPLE SUFFERS..NOW I HOPE PRESIDENT BIO WILL CONTINUE TO HOLD UP TO THE NAME OF HIS PARTY THE SLPP which stands for Sierra Leone People’s Party, to know that it belongs to the people and NOT to one particular tribe or tribes.So it is NOT the party of the mende as it is wildly known but the party of the people of SIERRA LEONE. ALso I hope they all put hands TOGETHER in to the CLEANING of FREETOWN- the Capital City of Sierra Leone. They say FIRST IMPRESSIONS goes a long way. Many people that go to Sierra Leone goes there through Freetown and therefore the CITY should represent the people of Sierra Leone by making it CLEAN & SAFE. CONGRATULATIONS PRESIDENT BIO & Your VICE PRESIDENT Dr. Judeh.. Please guys GIVE GOD THE GLORY and reach out to Mr Kamara and ask him for his CIVIC HELP to the people of Sierra Leone in to running the nation. Give an OLIVE BRANCH TO HIM & ALL OTHERS so that all of you can work together for THE GOOD OF THE NATION.
Is there a way of assessing electoral results to ascertain ballot manipulation. Well, psychological biases in generating numbers can be assessed to determine the above.
Firstly, in statistics with random numbers the last digits should occur with equal frequency, while in fraudulent elections there is a tendency to repeat certain numbers due to individual preference. In plain English, if the last digits in the results for the presidential candidates show a preference for one number, then the possibility of ballot manipulation is high.
Secondly,the likelihood of digit repetition in random sequences of numbers, in other words, if there is relatively few repetition of digits, then the possibility of fraud is high and indicates human agency, third, there is a tendency in ballot manipulation for adjacent digits to be repeated due to psychological bias, this means that 98 for example will be repeated through the sequence and finally, numerals which are far from each other such as 1 and 9, known as distant numerals should come up in a randomised sequence of numbers, hence something like 1739, however, if such integers are few in the sequence, that is another way of ascertaining human agency due to psychological bias.
Mr. Alimamy Kargbo,
You are within your rights to challenge the presidential election results in Sierra Leone’s supreme court if you so desire within seven days. Assuming you are a member of the All People’s Congress (APC), here are some tips on winning national elections at the presidential level:
1. Your party must commence the elections season fully prepared to undertake the task at hand. You do not prepare within a month of elections.
2. You must not have as your flagbearer a guy that is compromised, a guy that is facing multiple corruption charges in the country’s court system.
3. Your flagbearer must be someone who is articulate and very intelligent. He must also be someone who is confident, someone who takes himself seriously.
4. Your party must be broad based nationally, representing the diversity of the nation. When the leadership of your party only represents a narrow regional base, you cease being a national party. Did you see how your party was rejected in the southern and eastern provinces of the country?
5. Denounce Adebayor and violence. Expel him from your party. He cost your party many votes.
Mr. Rashid, thank you for this news source, thank you for the effort you put in and your contribution to the betterment of our country. That said, I have to ask, what kind of article is this? You state:
“The APC will need to take a look at itself in the mirror and ask whether it likes what it sees. In the last five years, APC has been dogged by infighting, lack of strong leadership, poor planning, and an endless court battle for the heart and soul of the party.
The APC party needs to go back to the drawing board and rebuild its support base across the regions, especially in the south and east of the country.”
While those are factual statements, with regards to the election results, we all know who the winner was going to be before voting even started. Mr. Paopa wasn’t going to lose. As you point out, he won with three percent of the vote last time (I maybe wrong but I was even under the impression it was only 2%), yet this time, with all the negatives against him, he won by 15 points. FANTASTIC. That’s called pulling a rabbit out of a hat and at last check, Bio is not a magician. And while there 13 presidential candidates, or 11 other candidates that would have siphoned off votes from the two main contenders, it seems Samura was the only one that lost votes to that. Again, FANTASTIC. The issue isn’t that APC didn’t do a good job campaigning or whatever, to win the election, not that I am vouching for them, it is that we have a president who was going to steal the election, paopa. Remember when he ran in 2018, his sister who owned a shop in Lumley where you could get stuff printed, was caught with printed ballot materials? Here is something else; yesterday when only 60% of the votes had supposedly been counted, Bio had his (convenient) 56%, so he can avoid a runoff. Today, after all the votes have been supposedly counted, he still had 56%. How come no change? Strange.