General elections were held in Sierra Leone on 11 August 2007. Seven candidates competed in the first round of the presidential election;"Sierra Leone ready for elections: electoral official", Xinhua (People's Daily Online), August 10, 2007. no candidate received the necessary 55% of the vote to win in the first round,"Sierra Leone Presidential Runoff Set for September 8" , VOA News, August 25, 2007. and a second round was held between the top two candidates, Ernest Bai Koroma of the All People's Congress (APC) and Solomon Berewa of the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP), on 8 September. According to official results, Koroma won the election with 54.6% of the vote.Rod MacJohnson, "Sierra Leone gets a new leader" , AFP (The Times, South Africa), September 17, 2007."S Leone opposition win presidency", BBC News, 17 September 2007.
566 candidates stood in the parliamentary election, in which 112 seats, out of a total of 124, were at stake. Voting for seats in parliament was done on a first-past-the-post constituency basis, rather than the system of proportional representation used previously."Polls split Sierra Leone" , News24.com, August 27, 2007. 12 members of parliament were chosen by traditional chiefs, who have been considered to be allied with the SLPP, in a separate election."Opposition sweeps Sierra Leone election" , AFP, August 23, 2007. The election was described as "free and fair" and "orderly" by international observers.
Background Vice-President Solomon Berewa was chosen as the presidential candidate of the ruling SLPP, as well as the party's leader, in early September 2005."Sierra Leone leader sacks three key ministers", Reuters (IOL), September 7, 2005. The incumbent president, Ahmed Tejan Kabbah of the SLPP, was prohibited from running again by term limits."Sierra Leone awaits poll results" , AngolaPress, August 14, 2007. On July 2, 2007, Foreign Minister Momodu Koroma was named as the party's vice-presidential candidate."Sierra Leone: ruling party names running mate amid controversy", African Press Agency, July 2, 2007. Ernest Bai Koroma was nominated as the presidential candidate of the main opposition party APC,"Sierra Leone: leading parties nominate candidates for presidential poll" , African Press Agency, July 5, 2007. with Samuel Sam-Sumana as his vice-presidential candidate."Biographical Sketch of Mr. Samuel Sam-Sumana: Running Mate of the All People’s Congress (APC) party in the August 11 Presidential Election" , APC (Awareness Times), July 5, 2007. Charles Margai was nominated as the presidential candidate of the People's Movement for Democratic Change (PMDC), with Ibrahim Tejan-Jalloh as his vice-presidential candidate."PMDC-USA Welcomes Dr. Ibrahim Tejan-Jalloh", press release (The Patriotic Vanguard), April 12, 2007. Margai formed the PMDC as a split from the SLPP in 2005, and this was seen as weakening the latter party.Abdul Lamin, "Vote of confidence" , Mail & Guardian Online (South Africa), August 16, 2007. Prior to the election, Berewa, Koroma, and Margai were considered the main three presidential candidates."Sierra Leone: 3 of seven candidates are presidential frontrunners", African Press Agency, August 11, 2007.
In May 2007, the National Electoral Commission (NEC) delayed the election by two weeks from the previously set date of 28 July, saying that it was necessary to have additional time after parliament was dissolved in late June 2007. This decision was sharply criticized by the opposition, since it meant the election would be held when the rainy season was at its peak, potentially making voting difficult for many people."S Leone opposition slams poll delays", AFP (IOL), 9 May 2007. On 11 May, NEC Chairperson Christiana Thorpe rejected requests for the election to be delayed until December, saying that it would be unconstitutional to hold them so late. Acknowledging the impact the rain would likely have on voter turnout, Thorpe said that there would be more polling stations in order to make voting more convenient."Vote date set in Sierra Leone" , Sapa (News24.com), 12 May 2007.
Campaigning Campaigning for the election began on 10 July."Pre-poll violence on the rise in Sierra Leone", AFP (IOL), July 12, 2007. The campaign was marred by some violence, but on 2 August an army spokesman described the country as "relatively calm and peaceful" and predicted a "peaceful, credible and violence-free" election. He also said that the army would not intervene in politics."Sierra Leone declared secure for polls", AFP (IOL), August 2, 2007.
APC candidate Koroma was allegedly the target of an assassination attempt in the early hours of July 23, 2007, when, according to the APC, a group of armed men led by Tom Nyuma, who was a participant in the 1992 coup that ousted the APC, attempted to enter his hotel room in the southern city of Bo to kill him.Alpha Kanu, "Statement issued by the All People's Congress in Sierra Leone" , Awareness Times (news.sl), July 24, 2007. In a letter to the Inspector General of Police in early August, Berewa alleged that the APC and the PMDC were planning to disrupt the election and intimidate SLPP supporters. He claimed that they planned to send their own supporters dressed in Operational Support Division uniforms to polling stations."Sierra Leone’s vice president accuses opposition leaders of planning chaos", African Press Agency, August 10, 2007. APC Secretary-General Victor Foh accused the SLPP of planning electoral fraud."Counting underway after Sierra Leone vote" , AFP (Khaleej Times Online), August 12, 2007.
Election violence Acts of violence escalated in the run up to the polls, especially in the capital, Freetown, and the south-eastern cities of Bo Kenema and Koidu Town. In July, police arrested scores of people after clashes in Bo between SLPP and PMDC supporters.
Election day and counts There were about 2.6 million registered voters at the time of the election and 6,171 polling stations. Voting was reported to be peaceful,"Sierra Leone holds "successful" landmark general elections", Xinhua (People's Daily Online), August 12, 2007. although in some places young people were said to have tried to disrupt vote counting, leading to increased security measures. An electoral commission official described the voting process as "smooth and successful". Turnout was reported to be high, despite the rains, with long lines at polling stations. Observers gave the election a positive appraisal"S Leone elections 'free and fair'", BBC News, August 13, 2007."Early results show lead for opposition in Sierra Leone", Reuters and Associated Press (International Herald Tribune), August 13, 2007. and placed voter turnout at more than 70%. Marie-Anne Isler, head of the European Union observer mission, described voting as "well organized, positive and transparent", but also said that the SLPP enjoyed a strong advantage due to incumbency and the support of some traditional chiefs, and that it was "extremely dominant" in state television coverage. EU observers also said that Berewa appeared to have distributed money to voters at his home, a claim that the SLPP denounced as "baseless and unfounded"."Sierra Leone poll ‘falls short’", AFP (Dispatch, South Africa), August 14, 2007.
Vote counting was done publicly at polling stations, with party representatives present. On August 13, Kabbah discouraged "provocative or inflammatory statements" and said that police would "deal firmly with any threats to the peace and stability of the nation". On the same day, NEC Chairperson Thorpe announced results from 7.4% of polling stations; out of these 150,374 votes, Koroma had 107,341 and Berewa had 33,041."Opposition presidential candidate leads in Sierra Leone polls", Panapress (Afriquenligne.fr), August 14, 2007 . Further results on August 14, from about 19% of polling stations, showed Koroma remaining well ahead of Berewa, with 204,774 votes against 106,487 for Berewa. Margai, in third place, had 43,904 votes."Opposition candidate leads in Sierra Leone presidential race", Associated Press (International Herald Tribune), August 14, 2007. Meanwhile, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appealed for the preservation of "an atmosphere of calm and public order" and said that "any potential dispute" should be resolved "within the established legal channels"."Sierra Leone elections: UN Secretary-General appeals for calm", African Press Agency, August 16, 2007."Sierra Leone leader urges calm", afrol News, August 14, 2007.
On August 15, an APC spokesman claimed that, based on its own count, the party had won 61 seats in parliament, which would be a majority, although at the time official results for only four seats had been announced, two for the APC, one for the SLPP, and one for the PMDC.James Butty, "Sierra Leone's Election Leader Asks Supporters for Patience" , VOA News, August 16, 2007. Partial results for the presidential election released by the National Electoral Commission on August 15, accounting for 34.3% of polling stations, showed Koroma still leading, although more narrowly; Koroma had 297,206 votes, compared to 227,353 for Berewa and 97,669 for Margai.Results from the National Electoral Commission on August 15, 2007 , news.sl. Further results on August 16, accounting for 45.3% of polling stations, showed Koroma with 400,027 votes, Berewa with 310,321 votes, and Margai with 120,231 votes.Results from the National Electoral Commission on August 16, 2007 , news.sl. Results from about 62% of polling stations on August 17 showed Koroma with 516,442 votes, Berewa with 421,812 votes, and Margai with 169,408 votes."Opposition candidate holds onto lead in Sierra Leone presidential vote count", Associated Press (International Herald Tribune), August 17, 2007.
On August 18, results from 81% of polling stations showed Koroma with 44% of the vote and Berewa with 38%."Runoff likely for Sierra Leone presidency as opposition candidate leads vote", Associated Press (International Herald Tribune), August 18, 2007. On August 20, results from 93.1% of polling stations showed Koroma with 754,696 votes, Berewa with 654,756 votes, and Margai with 239,637 votes. In the parliamentary election, the APC had 21 seats, the SLPP had 10, and the PMDC had four. Turnout is placed at about 76%.Results from the National Electoral Commission on August 20, 2007 , news.sl.
On August 19, Margai stated his support for Koroma in the second round of the election."In Sierra Leone, Margai endorses Ernest Koroma at his 62nd Birthday Party" , Awareness Times, August 19, 2007. On August 20, the PMDC's Karamoh Kabba explained what he said was the reasoning behind the decision: the PMDC sought to "ensure a more representative government, the survival of the PMDC as a political party and the creation of a third formidable political force for smooth running of democracy in Sierra Leone". According to Kabba, backing the APC would help to bridge the regional political divide marking Sierra Leone's politics (the SLPP and PMDC draw their main support from the south, while the APC draws its main support from the north), while backing the SLPP would deepen it; furthermore, he said that the APC had a natural reason to want the PMDC to survive, while the SLPP had a natural reason to want to destroy it."'Why We Went APC' - PMDC's Karamoh Kabba Speaks" , Awareness Times, August 20, 2007. Margai's support for the APC provoked controversy in the PMDC, however, with some feeling that his decision was made without properly consulting the party.Peter Clottey, "Some Executives of Sierra Leone’s Opposition PMDC Unhappy", VOA News, August 21, 2007."In Sierra Leone, PMDC Rank & File Condemn Charles Margai" , Awareness Times, August 20, 2007.