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Opposition Claims Majority In Sierra Leone ParliamentFREETOWN, Sierra Leone, Aug. 15 (Reuters) — Sierra Leone’s main opposition party said Wednesday that it had won a parliamentary majority in national elections and vowed to mount a legal challenge if official results, still trickling in, showed otherwise. The party, the All People’s Congress, said it had won 61 of 112 seats in Parliament, based on results from polling stations around the West African country that were collated by party officials. The opposition party also said its leader, Ernest Koroma, was ahead in the presidential election, held alongside the parliamentary vote on Saturday, beating the incumbent vice president, Solomon Berewa of the governing Sierra Leone People’s Party. But the All People’s Congress urged its supporters to wait for the official results before celebrating. A spokesman for the party, Alpha Kanu, said its leader was “calling on all Sierra Leoneans from all parties to exercise patience, remain calm, and not to behave like the proverbial young antelope who danced himself lame before the main dance.” The elections were the first since United Nations peacekeepers left the country two years ago and are seen as a test of Sierra Leone’s recovery from a civil war from 1991 to 2002 that killed 50,000 people. Electoral materials were taken to more than 6,000 polling places in the country’s savannah, jungle and mountains by army trucks, canoes and other means. Official results are arriving here in the capital slowly, some flown by helicopter. Partial results from 11 out of 14 constituencies showed Mr. Koroma doing well, particularly in his party’s northern strongholds. The vote for Mr. Berewa’s party appears to have been reduced by a splinter group that broke away from it last year. Also, many Sierra Leoneans are angry at the government’s failure to curb the rampant corruption that many voters believe has drained off substantial foreign aid since the war. Officials have said a runoff, due to be held in September if no presidential candidate wins 55 percent, appears likely. On the basis of results collated so far, the electoral commission has said turnout was about 75 percent, high by West African standards. Five years after the end of the civil war, Sierra Leone remains the second-least-developed nation on earth, according to United Nations statistics. Most people earn less than a dollar a day and lack basic amenities. Tag CloudExternal InformationAdditional InformationUkraine: Ex-Premier Makes Comeback...Cave May Hold Secrets to Legend of Ancient Rome... Gabriola Island Journal: In an Answerless Canadian Inquiry, 3 Bodyless Feet... World Briefing | Europe: Denmark: Papers Reprint Muhammad Cartoon... Where Am I?News Main Page - Business - Opposition Claims Majority In Sierra Leone Parliament |
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