Members of the West African Elders Forum (WAEF), led by former President Goodluck Jonathan, have arrived in Freetown Sierra Leone’s capital ahead of the country’s general election billed for Saturday June 24. According to Jonathan the WAEF will work with other stakeholders in Sierra Leone to ensure the election which will be held this weekend is peaceful and credible. Jonathan stated this on his twitter handle shortly after he arrived in Freetown, the capital of the West African country. WAEF consists of former leaders and statesmen who will provide mediation and interlocutory roles in addressing electoral and democratic conflict in the region. The forum was officially inaugurated on March 4, 2021.
Sierra Leoneans are heading to the polls on in the country’s fifth post-conflict electoral contest to select their next president, amid mounting frustration due to an ailing economy and rising unemployment.
Thirteen people are vying for the top job in the west African country. But experts say it’s likely to be a two-horse race between incumbent President Julius Maada Bio, elected in 2018 and fighting for his second term, and Samura Kamara, the head of the All People’s Congress Party, Sierra Leon’s main opposition camp.
The winner requires 55% of the vote to clinch victory in the first round or it goes into a runoff within two weeks.
