Sierra Leone’s president is sworn in for a second term amid allegations of fraud by opposition candidate

Bio reaches out to the opposition for “national construction” while Kamara stresses that the results “are not credible”

June 28 (EUROPA PRESS) –

Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio has been sworn in for a second term hours after the electoral commission announced his victory in the first round with more than 56 percent of the vote, results flatly rejected by the leading candidate. opponent, Samura Kamara, who has stressed that the figures “are not credible”.

“In line with the Constitution of the Republic of Sierra Leone, I have been sworn in (…) with a renewed zeal to work towards an accelerated national development agenda to improve the quality of life for the people of Sierra Leone,” Bio has stated.

Thus, he has stressed that the “focus” of his next administration “will be food security, consolidating progress in the development of human capital, creating jobs for young people, modernizing public service and developing technology and infrastructure.”

The president has thanked the Sierra Leoneans for their “many sacrifices.” “Our victory is your victory”, he said, before emphasizing that “it is a collective victory of each one of the citizens”.

“We must unite now that the elections have ended in order to pursue a common goal, which is the development of our beloved country,” he said, before asking the population to “be peaceful and comply with the law,” according to the transcript of his speech, published by the Sierra Leone Presidency on its website.

“In particular, I ask my followers to set an example in being peaceful and magnanimous in victory. We must extend a hand of brotherhood to our brothers and sisters on the other side, as we all seek one thing, which is peace, progress. and prosperity for Sierra Leone,” he argued.

“INCONTESTABLE” RESULT

Bio has defended that the results “demonstrate, beyond all reasonable doubt” the “faith” in his “ability to sustain and advance the transformation work started in 2018”, when he became President after defeating Kamara in the second round .

“I thank you, dear citizens, for coming out in record numbers to peacefully exercise your constitutional right to elect your leaders, regardless of your affiliation,” he pointed out, before emphasizing that it has been “a peaceful electoral process that has generated an incontestable result that truly reflects the will of the people”.

“Today, with the successful holding of the elections, Sierra Leone stands with the young democracies in our efforts to consolidate our democratic gains,” he said. “Dear compatriots, with the electoral results your voice is heard loud and clear and I promise to start the process of uniting the progressive forces (…) to forge a common front to make this country move forward,” he defended.

Therefore, Bio has reiterated that “it extends the hand of brotherhood to the brother and main opposition leader, Samura Kamara, so that he joins the arduous task of national construction.” “The work ahead is enormous, but collectively we can build the country of our dreams. The Sierra Leone that current and future generations deserve,” he has advanced.

“It is time to join hands and erase the lines drawn during an intense campaign season to come together as a family, proud members of the Sierra Leonean nation,” Bio said, before asking his supporters to “keep the peace and embrace the brothers and sisters on opposite sides to join forces.”

Just hours earlier, Bio had been “extremely honored and immensely grateful” for what he described as an “overwhelming vote of confidence” at the polls, in which his party, the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), had imposed equally in parliamentary and local.

“This victory is for Sierra Leone, as we have shown once again that although our languages, tribes and political views may differ, we are united in our desire to see the land we love, Sierra Leone, prosper,” said the president, who He is now facing his second term at the helm of the African country.

Along these lines, he defended on his account on the social network Twitter that “there are no winners or losers in these elections” and congratulated “all the candidates who have participated in the elections.” “I humbly extend my hand of brotherhood to the leaders of the other political parties and their members to join us in our national development efforts,” she stressed.

KAMARA REJECTION

However, Kamara issued a statement via Twitter after the announcement of the results by the electoral commission in which he spoke of a “sad day” for the country, subjected to “a frontal attack against the emerging democracy.”

“We have heard the unfortunate announcement of the presidential elections on June 24 by the president of the electoral commission, Mohamed Konneh,” he said, before insisting that “these results are not credible.” “I categorically reject the result announced by the electoral commission,” he said.

“I thank everyone for their trust and for supporting me. I recognize the efforts of our local and international partners, who supported transparency and democracy,” said Kamara, who promised to “be above this farce” and pledged to ” continue the fight for a better Sierra Leone”.

Kamara’s party, the All People’s Congress (APC), had already been very critical of the first official results, corresponding to 60% of the count, and denounced that its auditors “have not had access to participate nor have they been allowed to verify and certify the results. “We cannot accept these results in any way. We totally reject the announcement (…) of these cooked figures,” he advanced.

CONCERNS ABOUT TRANSPARENCY

For its part, the US State Department’s Bureau for African Affairs said Tuesday afternoon that it “shares the concerns expressed by electoral observation groups about the transparency of the recount process.”

“The people of Sierra Leone deserve a free and fair electoral process with a result that reflects the will of the people,” he asserted, while applauding the population for “exercising their right to vote,” a statement that can be interpreted as an thinly veiled criticism of the role of the electoral commission and of the official results.

In fact, the US ambassador in Freetown, David Reimer, later stated, also via Twitter, that “like everyone else, Washington is very interested in the election results.” “Announced results must accurately reflect the will of the people of Sierra Leone,” he added.

The electoral observation mission of various international organizations – the African Union (AU), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Commonwealth – demanded on Tuesday that the electoral commission “guarantee maximum transparency in the processing and publication of the provisional and final results of the elections”.

Likewise, he expressed his concern about the “inflammatory language that circulates on social networks” and called “to show patience and restraint while waiting for the final declaration of the results of the elections on June 24 by the electoral commission of Sierra Leone”.

The vote and, especially, the repercussions that it may have at a political and economic level, will mark the future in the short term in the country, which aspires to consolidate the democratic advances obtained in the two decades that have passed since the end of the civil war ( 1991-2002), which left around 120,000 dead.