Commonwealth Observer Chair, and the immediate past Vice President of Nigeria Prof. Yemi Osinbajo SAN, GCON, at the crack of dawn, visited multiple polling stations in Freetown, Sierra Leone to observe as the election processes begin in the Country.
Osinbanjo had on Thursday deployed the observers ahead of the presidential and parliamentary elections, scheduled to hold today 24th June, 2023.
No fewer than 17 registered political parties are contesting local council, parliamentary and presidential elections, with approximately 3.37 million registered voters expected at the polls. It will be the fifth time the Commonwealth is observing national elections in Sierra Leone since the end of the Civil War in 2002.
While voting is underway, today’s fiercely contested general elections, 12 men and one woman are vying for the top job and incumbent Bio’s main challenger is Samura Kamara of the All People’s Congress (APC) party.
The two could face off for the second time in a row. Bio, 59, of the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), narrowly beat Kamara, who is aged 72, in a runoff in 2018.
However, rising food prices are a key issue for many voters in the import-dependent nation of eight million people.