President Julius Maada Bio has been sworn into office for a second five-year term after being declared the winner of Sierra Leone’s presidential election. But the opposition has disputed the results.
Official figures say that Mr Bio gained 56 percent of the vote. His main rival, Samura Kamara, trailed far behind with 41 percent.
After the first tranche of results were released on Monday, Dr Kamara called the outcome daylight robbery.
International election observers have highlighted problems with transparency in the tallying process.
The June 24 vote took place amid tension but President Bio had called on Sierra Leoneans to keep the peace. The rivalry between him and Dr. Kamara, 72, was a repeat of the closely fought 2018 election, which went to a second round.
This time Dr Kamara, who was the Candidate for the All-People’s Congress, has alleged that his electoral agents were not allowed to verify the ballot counting. In the run-up to the vote, the APC had made complaints about the Electoral Commission.
However, the Commission insisted that it has mechanisms in place to ensure a fair vote.
The Presidential, Parliamentary and local council elections came at the end of a campaign marred by several violent incidents.
This was Sierra Leone’s fifth election since the civil war ended in 2002.