Elections on June 24, 2023
Sierra Leone is set to hold presidential, parliamentary, local council and mayoral elections on June 24. Several parties are contesting, but the outcome of the presidential and parliamentary elections will most likely be decided, as in 2018, between the leading candidates Julius Maada Bio of the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) and Samura Kamara of the All People's Congress (APC). Five years ago, Bio of the SLPP defeated Kamara in a runoff for the presidency, but the APC currently holds the majority in parliament. All citizens over the age of 18 are eligible to vote.
Both parties are led in the elections by the same politicians as in 2018: the APC by Samura Mathew Wilson Kamara and Chernor Maju Bah, the SLPP by current President Julius Maada Bio and Vice President Juldeh Jalloh.
Samaru Kamara of the APC focuses his speeches and appearances on the economic development of the country and the rising cost of living, which complicates the situation of many people. He uses price comparisons to point out the immense cost increases within the last five years. The price of gasoline, for example, has risen from NLE 7 to NLE 21.5 during this period. The APC sees itself as the social liberal party of the little people and advertises with the slogan "If you are comfortable, vote SLPP but if you are suffering, vote APC."
In its 2018 election program, the social democratic SLPP focused on education and vocational support for the population. Already in the year after the election, the promise of free primary school attendance was realized to a large extend and complemented by programs for free school materials and free school meals in primary school. Since the introduction of this "Free Quality Education", the number of students receiving basic education has doubled. In addition, tuition at the university was waived for girls for certain science courses. 21 percent of the national budget has gone to education over the years. In addition, infrastructure measures such as the construction of roads, factories and the airport have been promoted. For the next election period, the SLLP promises to focus on agriculture.
At this point, the SLLP appears to have a good chance of winning the election, not least because some well-known politicians of APC have switched to the. The SLLP currently appears to be making gains in the north and west of the country, which have traditionally been in the hands of its political opponents, while the votes in the south and east of the country, the SLLP's core area, appear to be stable.
FSL as guest at Good Morning Sierra Leone
Simeon Harding presents the Business Plan Competition on Good Morning Sierra Leone: