West Africa: Tensions mount as Sierra Leone prepares for high-stakes elections

Sierra Leone is gearing up for crucial presidential elections on Saturday amid growing discontent and calls for change from its citizens. Voters in Sierra Leone will go to the polls on Saturday to elect a president, MPs and local councils. This will be the fifth election since the end of the country’s brutal civil war, which ended 21 years ago. Thirteen candidates are in the race for the president in the West African country. Incumbent President Julius Maada Bio of the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), who was elected in 2018 and seeking his second term, and Samura Kamara, the main opposition head of the All People’s Congress (APC) are among the top contenders for the post, according to analysts. More than 3 million people are registered to vote in the election, according to the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone. The winning candidate must garner 55% of the vote in the first round to be declared winner or it would go into a runoff within two weeks.