The President of Sierra Leone, Julius Maada Bio has called for a peaceful election at the end of a tense campaign.
Maada Bio, who is running for re-election held his final rally in the capital on the Freetown’s Lumley Beach on Tuesday, before the opening of the polls which is to happen on Saturday.
“I want to appeal to everybody, we want peaceful elections. No violence. You have your card, on that day go and vote,” he said
Voters will also elect MPs and local councils.
Julius Maada Bio is one of 13 candidates vying for the top office.
Traditional parade-like political street rallies have been banned this year to avoid potential violence.
Macksood Gibril Sesay, a former electoral commissioner, expressed concern that there “wasn’t a process of healing” after deadly riots in August last year.
“Everybody knows that elections are a period where they just need something to spark off and then there will be chaos everywhere.”
The two main parties waited until just a month before elections to release their manifestos.
Since then, the opposition has lambasted the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone (ECSL) for alleged bias in favour of the ruling party, raising speculation that it is laying the groundwork for a court challenge, a tactic both parties have used in the past.
Chioma Kalu
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