Queuing for hope

SIERRA Leone voters queued for hours in steamy humidity yesterday to elect a new leader they hope will end years of economic crisis caused by a commodities slump and the Ebola epidemic.

President Ernest Bai Koroma has completed his maximum two terms in office, and 16 candidates are vying to replace him, of whom four are seen as having a realistic chance.

The economy shrank by a fifth in 2015 after years of stability following a devastating civil war.