The Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone has confirmed a 72% voter turnout in the early voting exercise for hajj pilgrims in the country.
As part of efforts not to disenfranchise eligible voters in the Sierre Leone general elections, the Electoral Commission(EC) organised an early voting exercise for the pilgrims in the country on June 15.
“Counting of ballots for Early Voting will be done at the last polling stations of designated polling centres on Saturday 24th June…,” the EC has stated.
A statement issued by the ECSL
More than 3.3 million eligible Sierra Leoneans would be expected to vote in the multi-tier elections across the 16 electoral districts of the country on June 24, 2024.
Meanwhile the main opposition party, All Peoples Congress(APC) in a statement described the exercise as illegal and vowed not to accept the outcome of the early voting exercise since the process was not free, fair and transparent.
A statement issued by APC
An independent coalition of civic and non-governmental organisations, National Elections Watch have in a statement raised concerns about the late notification of stakeholders regarding the early voting exercise and the need for the ECSL to have exhibited the early voter list.
Sierra Leoneans across the country are voting in the multi-tier general elections – presidential, parliamentary, and local council elections – on June 24, 2023, with polls scheduled for 7 am to 5 pm.
