Opposition wins Sierra Leone elections

FREETOWN – Opposition candidate Ernest Bai Koroma has won Sierra Leone’s presidential run-off, say election officials.

Koroma received 55 per cent of the 1,7 million votes counted, compared with 45 per cent for the ruling party candidate, Vice-President Solomon Berewa, said election commission chief Christiana Thorpe. The vote had been seen as a test for the West African country to show it had emerged from the chaos wrought by a decade-long war that ended in 2002.Tens of thousands of civilians died in the fighting, and rebels hacked off the limbs of countless others.The presidential vote was Sierra Leone’s first since the United Nations peacekeepers withdrew two years ago.Though rich in diamonds, Sierra Leone had a citizenry that was poor and unemployed, and corruption was rampant.President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah was barred by law from running for a third five-year term.Koroma, 54, led the first round of voting on August 11, winning 44 per cent of the vote, compared with 38 per cent for Berewa, 69.However, that margin was not large enough to win outright.About 2,6 million of Sierra Leone’s 5 million people registered to vote.A simple majority was needed for victory.Nampa-APThe vote had been seen as a test for the West African country to show it had emerged from the chaos wrought by a decade-long war that ended in 2002.Tens of thousands of civilians died in the fighting, and rebels hacked off the limbs of countless others.The presidential vote was Sierra Leone’s first since the United Nations peacekeepers withdrew two years ago.Though rich in diamonds, Sierra Leone had a citizenry that was poor and unemployed, and corruption was rampant.President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah was barred by law from running for a third five-year term.Koroma, 54, led the first round of voting on August 11, winning 44 per cent of the vote, compared with 38 per cent for Berewa, 69.However, that margin was not large enough to win outright.About 2,6 million of Sierra Leone’s 5 million people registered to vote.A simple majority was needed for victory.Nampa-AP