Sierra Leone: Violence Erupts Ahead of Presidential Election

Facts

• Tensions are rising in Sierra Leone as the West African country prepares for its presidential election set for Saturday. 12 candidates are challenging the incumbent President Julius Maada Bio in his bid for a second and final term.¹
• At least one person is dead following violence that erupted Wednesday outside of the All People's Congress — the main opposition party — headquarters facility. A spokesperson for that party said that a supporter was killed by the police.²
• In the country's fifth election since its violent civil war ended, Bio, the leader of the Sierra Leone's People's Party will face off against the APC's Samura Kamara. In addition to the presidency, there will also be 132 parliamentary and local leadership seats in play.³
• In recent years, the country has fought against exceedingly high unemployment rates, food insecurity, and inflation. These issues are expected to be the front and center of the race in addition to healthcare, infrastructure, and education.³
• Kamara, who served as Bio's Secretary of Finance in 1996 said, "Now it's time for me to move away from a chief finance officer to (being) a chief executive officer." He and his party have campaigned on plans to overhaul agriculture and mining systems, restore confidence in the financial systems, and reverse the outflow of foreign exchange.⁴

Sources: ¹CNN, ²Reuters, ³The Conversation, and ⁴France 24.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Starr FM. It's hoped that Sierra Leone's democratic and peaceful election will serve as a beacon of hope for other nations in the region and the international community at large. An election without violence and chaos will show the world that Sierra Leone is politically stable and growing through peaceful and achievable means. Once the election has concluded, Sierra Leone hopes to inspire regional neighbors like Senegal, Burkina Faso, and Mali to seek harmonious and nonviolent transitions of power in the future.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Access Now. In 2022, the government-sanctioned two internet shutdowns in response to anti-government protests. These actions demonstrate the government's willingness to stray from democracy by not only taking away people's ability to educate themselves on the issues but also taking away a vital resource. There are reasons to be concerned that Sierra Leone's elections may not be the beacon of democracy on the world stage as hoped — volatile democratic backsliding is possible.