Sierra Leone - June 2023

General elections were held in Sierra Leone on 24 June 2023. The election selected the members of local councils, the unicameral national parliament, and the president. The presidential election has attracted the most attention. The official results gave incumbent President Julius Maada Bio 56 per cent of the vote, one per cent above the threshold that would have required a second round of voting. Turnout was reported to be 83 per cent of registered voters, marking a continuation of the high level of participation in 2018 and 2012. Mr. Bio was sworn in to begin his second term within hours of the announcement of the official results. However, local and foreign election observers raised serious concerns about inconsistencies and a lack of transparency in the vote-counting process. The main opposition party All People’s Congress (APC) echoed this concern and alleged over-voting in some districts and called for a re-run of the election. The parliamentary election also resulted in a victory for President Bio’s Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), which won 81 seats (60 per cent) while the APC took 54. This election was a significant advance for gender equality in the country, as the number of women in the legislature more than doubled from 19 to 42, now accounting for 28.2 per cent of the members of parliament. This achievement follows the Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment Act passed in January 2023. However, advocates have noted that this still falls short of the 30 per cent quota the act established due to weaknesses in application of the law.

Sources: British Broadcasting Corporation, Al Jazeera, Carter Center, European Union Election Observer Mission, Voice of America, Reuters, Inter-Parliamentary Union