The News Review:
- Opposition leads presidential race in Sierra Leone
- United Nations Hails Kailahun Elections in Sierra Leone
- SPOKESPERSON FOR THE UN SECRETARY GENERAL MICHELE MONTAS HOLDS OFFICE…
Opposition leads presidential race in Sierra Leone
International Herald Tribune – Aug 15, 2007
With about 19 percent of the vote counted, Ernest Bai Koroma received 204,774 votes, about double the 106,487 votes cast for the ruling party candidate, Vice President Solomon Berewa, according to a tabulation by The Associated Press of results released by the official election commission. The poll – the first since United Nations peacekeepers withdrew from the West African country two years ago – has been seen by many as chance to prove that the country has finally emerged from years of war as a functioning democracy. Seven candidates are vying to succeed President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah, who is prevented by term limits from running for a third, five-year term. Berewa, 69, was considered the front-runner going into the poll Saturday, with Koroma, a businessman, as his biggest challenger.
United Nations Hails Kailahun Elections in Sierra Leone
Awareness Times – Aug 15, 2007
The situation in Kailahun district on Monday, 13 August 2007, is the following:There are 184 polling centres in the district where 184 tamper-evident envelopes (TEE), with the consolidated results, have been prepared for further processing at the tally centre in Freetown. These envelopes contain the results for each polling centre and have been signed by the polling officials and the party representatives. The envelopes are very safe, and cannot be tampered with. 59 of these envelopes have been taken already to Freetown; 58 envelopes are at the district elections office in Kailahun awaiting the next transport to Freetown.
SPOKESPERSON FOR THE UN SECRETARY GENERAL MICHELE MONTAS HOLDS OFFICE…
Free with registration – Political/Congressional Transcript Wire – AccessMyLibrary.com – Aug 15, 2007
We have a statement attributable to the spokesperson for the Secretary-General on the conduct of the Sierra Leone elections. The Secretary-General was pleased to learn that polling in Sierra Leone’s presidential and parliamentary elections was successfully conducted on 11 August in a generally peaceful atmosphere, with high voter turnout. The Secretary-General congratulates the people of Sierra Leone for showing their commitment to the consolidation of peace and democracy in their country, and commends the National Electoral Commission and Sierra Leone’s security agencies for putting in place security and administrative arrangements that facilitated the efficient conduct of the polling process. He also thanks all national and international stakeholders that provided material and technical support to the Electoral Commission, or fielded observers for the elections. As the counting of ballots continues over the coming days, the Secretary-General urges all Sierra Leoneans to preserve an atmosphere of calm and public order, and to resolve any potential disputes through the established legal channels. Also on Sierra Leone, the Executive Representative of the Secretary-General, Victor Angelo, also appealed to all — women, men and youth — to let the National Electoral Commission and its polling officers do their work. He asked them to keep the same spirit of tolerance that was shown during the campaigns…
He also thanks all national and international stakeholders that provided material and technical support to the Electoral Commission, or fielded observers for the elections. As the counting of ballots continues over the coming days, the Secretary-General urges all Sierra Leoneans to preserve an atmosphere of calm and public order, and to resolve any potential disputes through the established legal channels. Also on Sierra Leone, the Executive Representative of the Secretary-General, Victor Angelo, also appealed to all — women, men and youth — to let the National Electoral Commission and its polling officers do their work. He asked them to keep the same spirit of tolerance that was shown during the campaigns. Concerning questions raised about the processing of the election results in the districts of Kailahun and Kenema, the United Nations Integrated Office in Sierra Leone stresses that the process is being followed exactly as planned and remains within the established procedures. And you can find Mr. Angelo’s message upstairs in my office.