This content was published on Jun 24, 2023 – 09:37. Jun 24, 2023 – 9:37 am
Freetown, June 24 (EFE). – The head of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), Leonardo Santos Simaõ, today called for “peaceful elections” in Sierra Leone, a country where he is voting this Saturday at the ballot box for its next president.
“(Simaõ) calls on all parties to refrain from any action, speech or statement that may undermine the integrity of the process,” UNOWAS said in a brief statement.
In doing so, Simaõ reaffirmed “the commitment of the United Nations”, in coordination with ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States), the African Union (AU) and “members of the international community”, “to support Sierra Leone in its consolidation efforts”. Peace, Democracy and Development”.
Sierra Leone is today celebrating its fifth general election since the end of its bloody civil war (1991-2002) that devastated the country and claimed more than 50,000 lives.
Although general and local elections are also taking place, the race for the presidency is centered on two candidates with a chance of winning: current President Julius Maada Bio, 59 and leader of the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP); and Samura Kamara, 72, leader of the opposition All Peoples Congress (APC).
Authorities expect around 3.4 million Sierra Leoneans – out of a population of 8.5 million – will vote at more than 3,630 polling stations across the country.
As EFE has been able to verify, Freetown, the country’s capital, has woken up to long lines of people patiently waiting their turn to cast their votes, even before polling stations close for 07:00 local time (same GMT ) are opened. .
The votes are still taking place in the shadow of the August 10 high-cost-of-living protests, which were harshly repressed by security forces and have left at least 27 civilians and six police officers dead, and Sesay’s allegations of an alleged “conspiracy”. condemned by the SLPP for “rigging the elections” on June 24.
In addition, on Wednesday, Sierra Leonean authorities broke up demonstrations called by the APC in different parts of the country after describing them as “illegal”.
Following the protests, the ambassadors of the European Union, the United States, Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Ireland called on all parties to “renounce violence, respect the political choices of others and reject the language of division and hatred”. .
The AU and ECOWAS issued a similar statement on Thursday, also voicing their “concerns” about “violence and intimidation” in the country. EFE
isk-pm/amg
© EFE 2023. The redistribution of all or part of the content of the Efe Services is expressly prohibited without the prior and express consent of Agencia EFE SA