Sierra Leone’s president wins second term without need for runoff, election commission announces
FILE - Julius Maada Bio, President of Sierra Leone, speaks at the start of the Transforming Education Summit at United Nations headquarters, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022. Sierra Leone’s election commission says President Julius Maada Bio has won a second term in office. The announcement Tuesday, June 27, 2023 said that the incumbent leader had received 56.17% of ballots cast, just over the 55% needed to avoid a second round. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
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FILE - Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio addresses the Climate Action Summit in the United Nations General Assembly at the U.N. headquarters, on Sept. 23, 2019. Sierra Leone’s election commission says President Julius Maada Bio has won a second term in office. The announcement Tuesday, June 27, 2023 said that the incumbent leader had received 56.17% of ballots cast, just over the 55% needed to avoid a second round. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow, File)
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Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio speaks to reporters after casting his ballot in Sierra Leone general elections in Freetown, Saturday June 24, 2023. Sierra Leoneans are selecting their next president amid mounting frustration due to an ailing economy, rising unemployment and the loom of deadly protests (AP Photo/TJ Bade)
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Supporters of President Julius Maada Bio celebrate in the streets of Freetown, Sierra Leone, after the electoral commission declared him the winner, Tuesday June 27, 2023. Sierra Leone’s election commission says President Julius Maada Bio has won a second term in office. (AP Photo/TJ Bade)
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FILE - Julius Maada Bio, President of Sierra Leone, speaks at the start of the Transforming Education Summit at United Nations headquarters, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022. Sierra Leone’s election commission says President Julius Maada Bio has won a second term in office. The announcement Tuesday, June 27, 2023 said that the incumbent leader had received 56.17% of ballots cast, just over the 55% needed to avoid a second round. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
FILE - Julius Maada Bio, President of Sierra Leone, speaks at the start of the Transforming Education Summit at United Nations headquarters, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022. Sierra Leone’s election commission says President Julius Maada Bio has won a second term in office. The announcement Tuesday, June 27, 2023 said that the incumbent leader had received 56.17% of ballots cast, just over the 55% needed to avoid a second round. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
FILE - Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio addresses the Climate Action Summit in the United Nations General Assembly at the U.N. headquarters, on Sept. 23, 2019. Sierra Leone’s election commission says President Julius Maada Bio has won a second term in office. The announcement Tuesday, June 27, 2023 said that the incumbent leader had received 56.17% of ballots cast, just over the 55% needed to avoid a second round. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow, File)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
FILE - Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio addresses the Climate Action Summit in the United Nations General Assembly at the U.N. headquarters, on Sept. 23, 2019. Sierra Leone’s election commission says President Julius Maada Bio has won a second term in office. The announcement Tuesday, June 27, 2023 said that the incumbent leader had received 56.17% of ballots cast, just over the 55% needed to avoid a second round. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow, File)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio speaks to reporters after casting his ballot in Sierra Leone general elections in Freetown, Saturday June 24, 2023. Sierra Leoneans are selecting their next president amid mounting frustration due to an ailing economy, rising unemployment and the loom of deadly protests (AP Photo/TJ Bade)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio speaks to reporters after casting his ballot in Sierra Leone general elections in Freetown, Saturday June 24, 2023. Sierra Leoneans are selecting their next president amid mounting frustration due to an ailing economy, rising unemployment and the loom of deadly protests (AP Photo/TJ Bade)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Supporters of President Julius Maada Bio celebrate in the streets of Freetown, Sierra Leone, after the electoral commission declared him the winner, Tuesday June 27, 2023. Sierra Leone’s election commission says President Julius Maada Bio has won a second term in office. (AP Photo/TJ Bade)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Supporters of President Julius Maada Bio celebrate in the streets of Freetown, Sierra Leone, after the electoral commission declared him the winner, Tuesday June 27, 2023. Sierra Leone’s election commission says President Julius Maada Bio has won a second term in office. (AP Photo/TJ Bade)
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FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (AP) — Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio has won a second term in office, receiving 56.17% of ballots cast and narrowly clearing the threshold for avoiding a runoff in the West African nation, electoral officials said Tuesday.
Main opposition candidate Samura Kamara immediately disputed the results showing he had received 41.16% of the vote in Saturday’s election.
“It is a sad day for our beloved country,” Kamara tweeted after the announcement. “It is a frontal attack on our fledgling democracy. These results are NOT credible and I categorically reject the outcome so announced by the electoral commission.”
To win in the first round of voting and avoid a runoff, the top contender had to secure 55% of the vote. Bio acknowledged his victory in a tweet Tuesday evening, saying he was “extremely humbled and immensely thankful for your overwhelming vote of confidence.”
“This victory is for Sierra Leone, as we have once again demonstrated that though our tongues, tribes and political persuasions might differ, we are united in our desire to see The Land That We Love, #SierraLeone, prosper,” Bio tweeted.
Supporters of both parties had claimed to have won in recent days, with Kamara saying earlier that he was on an “irreversible path to an overwhelming victory.” He also alleged that security forces had opened fire Sunday on a celebration at his party’s headquarters, though police denied having fired live bullets.
Bio previously defeated Kamara in the 2018 presidential election, promising to end rampant corruption. Analysts say Bio has invested in improving education and also has taken steps to fight rampant corruption. At the beginning of this year, he signed a landmark women’s rights bill.
But the weak economy eventually propelled Sierra Leoneans into the streets to protest widespread poverty. Nearly 60% of Sierra Leone’s population of more than 7 million are facing poverty, with youth unemployment being one of the highest in West Africa.
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Associated Press writer Krista Larson in Dakar, Senegal contributed.