SIERRA LEONE Police put down violent clashes after voting ends
FREETOWN, Sierra Leone — Riot police put down skirmishes Wednesday in Sierra Leone’s capital as political tensions mounted after authorities visited the office of the leading opposition candidate.
At least one person was treated for stab wounds following the melee that erupted after an SLPP opposition spokesman said police had come to search the party’s offices without a warrant.
Their candidate, Julius Maada Bio, who had been defeated in the 2012 election, later went on live television to criticize the move.
“Counting has started and I have phones and laptops which I am using to tally the results of the counting,” he said. “I have established a tallying center in my office which is not against the law of this country. This is a legitimate affair.”
A spokesman for the current president from the ruling APC party denied that authorities were trying to foment unrest.
“The police and the rule of law stay in place,” Abdulai Bayratay later said on the same network. “The APC is not trying to compromise the peace of this country.”
Wednesday’s vote is the fourth since Sierra Leone’s brutal civil war ended in 2002, and the last election in 2012 was largely peaceful.
The presidential field was crowded with 16 candidates. The winner will be tasked with helping the country continue to rebuild after the devastating 2014-16 Ebola epidemic. The capital also was battered by a deadly mudslide in August that claimed about 1,000 lives.
“I have come to vote for a president who I believe will make a difference to the progress of the country in every aspect of its development,” said Dr. John Konteh, who waited in line to cast his ballot Wednesday. “I have come to vote for the continuation of what the present government has done.”
Aminata Lukulay, a teacher who waited in line for three hours, said “as a Sierra Leonean, it is my right to vote and I am voting for change in terms of the educational system, job opportunities, and development of the country as a whole.”
Outgoing President Ernest Bai Koroma has said “this is the time for people to vote responsibly and I am willing to hand over to whoever is elected to succeed me.”
The front-runners are Samura Kamara, the incumbent’s pick as successor, and Bio, who lost in 2012.
The race most likely will go to a second round later in March as observers say it’s unlikely any one candidate will receive 55 percent of the vote.