Sierra Leone 2023 Elections: What you need to know

The Republic of Sierra Leone, a country on the southeast coast of West Africa with a population of 7,548,702, would be going to the polls come June 24, 2023, to elect a new president and government.

The 2023 general elections will be the sixth democratic electoral process since 1996, and 3,374,258 total registered voters are expected to vote in 16 Districts, 3,630 polling centres and 11,832 polling stations across the country.

The Western Urban District has the highest number (598,022) registered voters, and the Falaba District has the lowest number (69,128) of registered voters.

According to the constitution, the presidential candidate that will emerge as the winner is expected to secure no less than 55% of the valid votes.

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However, “in the case of that, no candidate wins 55% of the valid votes, the two candidates with the highest number of votes should compete in a second election, also called a run-off,” the Electoral Commission has said.

Three types of Electoral systems

According to the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone, three types of electoral systems will be used to conduct the 2023 Elections. They include;

• The Two-rounds system (Run-off): to conduct the Presidential Election

• The First-Past-The-Post (Simple Majority): the system will be used to conduct the Chairperson and Mayoral Election.

• The Proportional Representation (District Block): the system will be used to conduct the Parliamentary and Local elections.

By Julius Kofi Satsi