2023-09-16 04:47:25
Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio on September 15, 2023 in Washington. OLIVIER DOULIERY / AFP
Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio accused the United States on Friday (September 15) of putting pressure on him to interfere in the counting of votes during the June elections that led to his re-election, a statement contrasting with the assessment of international observers. “It was when the time came to announce the results of the election that the problems began”Mr. Bio said on Friday during an event at the American University in Washington where he was speaking.
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The national electoral commission “had collected the data, made his calculations (…) and there, the United States asked me to prevent [la commission] to announce the results. So, I don’t know who is accusing whom of interference.”he added. “I refused to do it and said I never called [la commission] and that I wasn’t going to do it now”he added, saying he respected “independence” of this “semi-autonomous organism”.
Julius Maada Bio, 59, was re-elected in June in a vote criticized by the opposition and foreign observers. International observers have noted “statistical inconsistencies” between the partial results and the final results and denounced “lack of transparency” in the counting process, while calling for peaceful dialogue to resolve differences.
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“Either way I was going to win”
President Bio, who won the election with 56.17% of the votes, a score just above the 55% threshold necessary to avoid a second round in this country, subsequently admitted “logistical limits” during these elections.
He announced the creation of a committee comprising members of government, civil society and development agencies to review the management of the electoral process and make recommendations.
For its part, the US State Department announced visa restrictions at the end of August against those who could be “responsible for or complicit in undermining democracy in Sierra Leone”without however naming the personalities targeted by this decision.
“The same American officials told us that in this context, they only wanted a second round to be held. But in any case I was going to win, as all the polls had clearly demonstrated.continued Mr. Bio during his speech at the American University in Washington, where he once studied.
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