Sierra Leone voted in a general election on Wednesday, as President Ernest Bai Koroma prepared to step down after two consecutive terms.
Before dawn queues had formed at the polling stations, as election fever swept the struggling West African country.
But with 16 presidential candidates on the ballot requiring 55 per cent of the vote, observers are predicting a run-off later this month.
“There might be 16 presidential aspirants but only three have a chance of winning,” said Jamie Hitchen, director of Africa research firm AREA Consulting.
Mr Koroma has anointed former foreign minister Samura Kamara of the ruling All People’s Congress (APC) as his successor. Supported by Chinese businesses with stakes in the country, he is the favourite.
“When an APC rally through the city centre is marked by supporters waving large Chinese flags, not many questions need to be asked,” said Catherine Bolten, a professor of anthropology at Notre Dame University.
Meanwhile Julius Maada Bio of the opposition Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), who led a three-month junta government in 1996, has campaigned on promises of free universal education.
Both are steeped in scandal. While Mr Bio is accused of stealing $18 million (Dhs66.1 million) from state coffers in 1996, Mr Kamara has attracted the epithet “Mr 10 per cent”, following accusations of skimming from government contracts.
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Read more:
Liberians hail victory of ex-football star Weah in landmark vote
Sierra Leone's Peace Diamond: how the gem made its way from mud to marketplace
Death toll from Sierra Leone mudslides rises above 400
Comment: How Sierra Leone is rebuilding after the disaster of Ebola
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Elections have traditionally fallen along ethnic lines, creating a two-party hegemony in a country still scarred by a brutal civil war from 1991 to 2002.
But this year the National Grand Coalition, formed just three months ago and led by former UN diplomat Kandeh Yumkella, has rejuvenated Sierra Leonean politics, mobilising disgruntled voters across ethnic lines and shifting the discussion to policy.
All candidates agreed to suspend hostilities amid small-scale skirmishes, with a public “peace pledge” prior to the elections, which the African Union and others are expected to observe.
With more than 3.1 million people registered to vote, turnout is expected to exceed the 2012 record of 87 per cent.
Back then, Sierra Leone was a regional leader in education and Africa’s fastest growing economy, prized by international investors for its abundant iron-ore.
But in the following years its economic fortunes faltered.
A global commodities crash in 2013 closed the country’s main iron-ore mines, sending the economy into free-fall. And in 2014 an Ebola outbreak left more than 4,000 dead, including hundreds of health workers.
Today, just 200 public doctors serve the country’s 7 million people.
Currently two-thirds of the population are either jobless or underemployed in a country plagued by corruption.
Observers from the African Union, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the European Union and the British Commonwealth are all overseeing voting.
In a joint statement they urged security forces "to demonstrate professionalism and to enforce the law in a neutral and proportional manner," in a country where the police are frequently accused of brutality.
The results, which are expected to be announced in the coming days, could have wider significance.
“West Africa has seen three peaceful transfers of power between political parties in the last 16 months, in Ghana, Gambia and Liberia,” said Mr Hitchen. “Sierra Leone could be a fourth.”
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Grubtech
Founders: Mohamed Al Fayed and Mohammed Hammedi
Launched: October 2019
Employees: 50
Financing stage: Seed round (raised $2 million)
JOKE'S%20ON%20YOU
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MATCH INFO
Arsenal 1 (Aubameyang 12’) Liverpool 1 (Minamino 73’)
Arsenal win 5-4 on penalties
Man of the Match: Ainsley Maitland-Niles (Arsenal)
How being social media savvy can improve your well being
Next time when procastinating online remember that you can save thousands on paying for a personal trainer and a gym membership simply by watching YouTube videos and keeping up with the latest health tips and trends.
As social media apps are becoming more and more consumed by health experts and nutritionists who are using it to awareness and encourage patients to engage in physical activity.
Elizabeth Watson, a personal trainer from Stay Fit gym in Abu Dhabi suggests that “individuals can use social media as a means of keeping fit, there are a lot of great exercises you can do and train from experts at home just by watching videos on YouTube”.
Norlyn Torrena, a clinical nutritionist from Burjeel Hospital advises her clients to be more technologically active “most of my clients are so engaged with their phones that I advise them to download applications that offer health related services”.
Torrena said that “most people believe that dieting and keeping fit is boring”.
However, by using social media apps keeping fit means that people are “modern and are kept up to date with the latest heath tips and trends”.
“It can be a guide to a healthy lifestyle and exercise if used in the correct way, so I really encourage my clients to download health applications” said Mrs Torrena.
People can also connect with each other and exchange “tips and notes, it’s extremely healthy and fun”.
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
Result
UAE (S. Tagliabue 90 1') 1-2 Uzbekistan (Shokhruz Norkhonov 48', 86')
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Angela Bassett, Tina Fey
Directed by: Pete Doctor
Rating: 4 stars
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
More from Armen Sarkissian
Company Profile
Company name: Yeepeey
Started: Soft launch in November, 2020
Founders: Sagar Chandiramani, Jatin Sharma and Monish Chandiramani
Based: Dubai
Industry: E-grocery
Initial investment: $150,000
Future plan: Raise $1.5m and enter Saudi Arabia next year
Haemoglobin disorders explained
Thalassaemia is part of a family of genetic conditions affecting the blood known as haemoglobin disorders.
Haemoglobin is a substance in the red blood cells that carries oxygen and a lack of it triggers anemia, leaving patients very weak, short of breath and pale.
The most severe type of the condition is typically inherited when both parents are carriers. Those patients often require regular blood transfusions - about 450 of the UAE's 2,000 thalassaemia patients - though frequent transfusions can lead to too much iron in the body and heart and liver problems.
The condition mainly affects people of Mediterranean, South Asian, South-East Asian and Middle Eastern origin. Saudi Arabia recorded 45,892 cases of carriers between 2004 and 2014.
A World Health Organisation study estimated that globally there are at least 950,000 'new carrier couples' every year and annually there are 1.33 million at-risk pregnancies.
SPECS
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Most F1 world titles
7 — Michael Schumacher (1994, ’95, 2000, ’01 ’02, ’03, ’04)
7 — Lewis Hamilton (2008, ’14,’15, ’17, ’18, ’19, ’20)
5 — Juan Manuel Fangio (1951, ’54, ’55, ’56, ’57)
4 — Alain Prost (1985, ’86, ’89, ’93)
4 — Sebastian Vettel (2010, ’11, ’12, ’13)
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge – Rally schedule:
Saturday: Super Special Spectator Stage – Yas Marina Circuit – start 3.30pm.
Sunday: Yas Marina Circuit Stage 1 (276.01km)
Monday: Nissan Stage 2 (287.92km)
Tuesday: Al Ain Water Stage 3 (281.38km)
Wednesday: ADNOC Stage 4 (244.49km)
Thursday: Abu Dhabi Aviation Stage 5 (218.57km) Finish: Yas Marina Circuit – 4.30pm.
