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Sierra Leone election observers identify ‘statistical inconsistencies’ by electoral commission
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European election monitors in Sierra Leone said there were “statistical inconsistencies” in the presidential results presented by the electoral commission, which pronounced President Julius Maada Bio the winner of Saturday’s poll.
The Mission urged the commission on Wednesday to share broken-down results data per polling station as soon as possible to allow for public assessment of the results.
The United States, Britain, Ireland, Germany, France and the EU stressed that they shared the concerns about lack of transparency in the tabulation process, and that significant logistical problems had hampered voting in certain areas.
The EU observation mission added that there were irregularities between the first and second batch of presidential results, including “significant discrepancies in the number of average valid votes per polling state.”
“We urge everyone to exercise restraint, respect the rule of law, and engage in peaceful dialogue to resolve disputes,” they said in a joint statement.
In his part, Sierra Leone’s electoral commissioner, Mohamed Kenewui Konneh, told Reuters that some of the results would be uploaded to the website “in due course,” but it will take time.
Recall that president Bio was re-elected to a second term with 56% of the vote, narrowly avoiding a run-off against the main opposition, Samura Kamara, who received around 41% of the vote.
The opposition candidate and flagbearer of the All People’s Congress (APC) in the Sierra Leone presidential election, Samura Kamara, has since rejected the outcome of the election.
Mr Kamara announced that the results of the presidential poll were not credible, saying he would continue to “fight for a better Sierra Leone.”
Earlier, Dr. Kamara described the first round of the results as “daylight robbery” after they were announced on Monday.