How do the Sierra Leonean elections work? A basic guide

INTERPRETER

Sierra Leone, one of the smallest but oldest states in West Africa, will elect a new president and government in June. Here’s what you need to know about the parties, leaders and key election issues.

On June 24, 2023, 3.4 million residents of Sierra Leone will go to the polls to vote for a new president. This will be the fifth election since the brutal 10-year civil war – and it is expected to follow the peaceful and somewhat democratic nature of its four predecessors.

Two well-known candidates are vying for the leadership of this country of 8.4 million. The incumbent president, Julius Maada Bio, is seeking re-election and has pledged to prioritize improving access to public education and boosting agricultural production.

Samura Kamara, the runner-up in the last presidential election of 2018, is the country’s other candidate for the top spot.

In addition to presidential elections, Sierra Leone also holds parliamentary and municipal elections. The last parliament, which was dissolved on 25 April, consisted of 132 directly elected members (MPs) and 14 chiefs of parliament (PCMPs).

The new parliament, following the June 24 elections, will consist of 135 MPs and 14 PCMPs.

Unlike the presidential election, voting will take place under the district-block proportional representation system, as opposed to the constituency-based first-past-the-post system used since 2007.

The election of PCMPs will also take place on June 24.

How do people vote?

• There are 3,374,258 residents of Sierra Leone registered to vote in the 2023 elections – an increase of 195,595 from 2018.
• Voting is done manually using the secret ballot method and voters choose their presidential and mayoral candidates at the same time.
• Since the system of proportional representation will be used to elect MPs and councillors, voters will vote for these two positions separately. In this round, voters select their political party of choice, rather than voting directly for individual candidates.
• The votes are counted physically at polling stations and counted electronically at the district and regional counting centers under the direction of the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL), which administers the country’s national elections.
• At the polling stations, the ballots go through five stages: screening, reunification, reconciliation, sorting and counting. After counting, the station’s presiding officer announces the results for agents and observers to record.
• The results are later recorded in the Reconciliation and Result Form (RRF).
  buy augmentin online http://abucm.org/assets/pdf/augmentin.html no prescription pharmacy

  The provisional results from all polling stations are sent to the district and regional counting centers for electronic counting.

• The regional commissioner per region announces the provisional results through the traditional media. These provisional results are further counted in the National Counting Center (NTC). The final result is announced by the Chief Election Commissioner through the traditional mass media.

Announce victory

• To be declared the winner, a presidential candidate must receive 55 percent of the total vote. If that is not possible in the first round of voting, a second round will take place between the two candidates with the most votes, as was the case in the 2018 elections.
• The system of proportional representation is used for the election of members of parliament and council members.
• The parliamentary seats are allocated by region. The distribution of the 135 seats per region is as follows: 32 seats for the east, 26 for the north, 21 for the northwest, 30 seats for the south and 26 seats for the west.
• A political party or an independent candidate must meet the 11.9 percent threshold for MPs and 4.5 percent for councilors to earn a seat or seat share. When the threshold is reached, the party or independent candidate receives a share of the seats based on the number of votes received.