Former opposition leader Julius Maada Bio was sworn in yesterday as Sierra Leone’s new president, after garnering 51.81 percent votes in last month’s elections.
This was Bio’s second attempt at the presidency as a civilian years after he ruled the country as the head of the military junta. He beat the All People’s Congress (APC) Samura Kamara, who got 48.19 percent of the votes.
Chief Justice Abdulai Charm swore in Bio and Vice President Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh hours after the announcement.
“This is the dawn of a new era. The people of this great nation have voted to take a new direction,” Bio said as he appealed for national unity.
He now takes over from President Ernest Bai Koroma, who served two terms and is constitutionally barred from running for president again.
However, Kamara has vowed to contest the results and has seven days to petition the country’s Supreme Court.
“We dispute the results and we will take legal action to correct them”, adding that the results “do not reflect the party’s many concerns about massive ballot box stuffing, supernumerary votes, and other irregularities,” he said in a televised broadcast.
