WITH 75 percent or 1.95 million of the processed votes from Sierra Leone’s March 7 general elections released by NEC on Sunday, the presidential candidate of oppositon Sierra Leone People’s Party, SLPP, rtd Brig. Julius Maada Bio now leads with 43.33 percent of the votes.

He is followed by Samura Kamara of the ruling All People’s Congress, APC, with 42.57 percent; while Kandeh Yumkellah of the National Grand Alliance (NGC) is third with 6.95 percent.

The two women presidential candidates scored less than 1 percent each.

Some 3.17 million voters were registered for the polls in the country with an estimated seven million population and 16 Administrative Districts.

NEC chair Mohamed N’fah Alie-Conteh told a Press Conference on Sunday that the remaining results would be announced as soon as possible, explaining that under the electoral law NEC has up to one week to release results of the polls.

If none of the 16 candidates contesting the presidency gains 55 percent of the votes cast in the first round, the two frontrunners will go for the run-off balloting two weeks after the declaration of the first round results.

The winner will replace outgoing President Ernest Bai Koroma of APC.

Some 789 candidates also contested for 124 seats in the 144-member parliament.

– Mar. 11, 2018 @ 10:20 GMT /