Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary-General

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has congratulated Mr Julius Bio on his election as the next President of the Republic of Sierra Leone.

Guterres also applauded the people of Sierra Leone for the sense of responsibility they demonstrated in successfully completing the elections in a peaceful manner.

The Secretary-General said he took note of the announcement by the National Electoral Commission on April 4 of the final results of the presidential run-off election in Sierra Leone.

The Secretary-General also congratulated all the candidates for their contributions to the successful outcome of the electoral process.

Guterres commended the efforts of the national, regional and international electoral observation teams as well as those of his Special Representative for West Africa and the Sahel, Mohammed Ibn Chambas.

The Secretary-General appealed for continued calm and stresses the need for all stakeholders to seek redress of any grievances that could arise through established legal means.

The Secretary-General reiterated the support of the UN to the new Government in consolidating peace and pursuing sustainable development.

Bio was sworn in as president late on Wednesday, just hours after the elections commission had announced his victory in a tight run-off poll, according to the News Agency o f Nigeria, NAN.

Representing the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), Bio won 51.81 percent of votes cast in the March 31 poll, according to results announced by the National Electoral Commission (NEC) on Wednesday.

He defeated former foreign affairs minister and the country’s ruling All People’s Congress (APC) candidate Samura Kamara, who had held a slight lead based on partial results earlier in the day but in the end garnered 48.19 per cent.

Maada Bio, the opposition candidate and former military junta leader, succeeded Ernest Bai Koroma who had been in office since September 2007.