Run Off To Decide Closely Contested Election, As Opposition Wins First Round Voting
14 March 2018
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Samura Kamara facing defeat to the opposition in run off set for March 27

By Paul Nyathi

Sierra Leonean voters will be called upon again to cast ballots to elect a new president.

The March 27 runoff date was announced by the National Electoral Commission (NEC) on Tuesday evening after declaring final results from the March 7 vote.

According to the results, the main opposition Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP) won by close to 1.1 million votes followed by the ruling All Peoples Congress (APC). Given that none of the top two candidates got the 55% mark, a runoff was required by law within two weeks of the final declaration.

Julius Maada Bio of the SLPP is taking his second shot at the presidency as a civilian. He lost the last polls to outgoing Ernest Bai Koroma in 2011. He has also previously served as a military Head of State. Samura Kamara, on the other hand, is the immediate past Foreign Affairs minister of the country.

Final Results 100% of the national votes processed:

Julius Maada Bio (SLPP) – 1,097,482 (43%)

Samura Kamara (APC) – 1,082,748 (42%)

Yumkella Kandeh (NGC) – 174,014 (6.9%)

Samuel Sam-Sumana (C4C) – 87,720 (3.4%)