President Bio taking his oath of office 1 year ago on 24 June 2023. On the right is First Lady, Fatima Bio

Abubakar Hashim

It was at night at 10.25 pm on 24 June 2023, that President Julius Maada Bio was sworn in by Justice Babatunde Edwards, then Chief Justice, as a second term President of Sierra Leone.

The Sierra Leone Law states immediate swearing in of a president after the electoral commission declares results.

President Bio won 56.17% of votes, defeating his arch rival, Samura Kamara of the famous APC party, who scored 41.16% of votes.

President Bio, now 60, Samura Kamara has clocked 73.

Triumphs and Travails So Far

June 24, 2023, swearing in ceremony, exactly 1 year today, was the 5th since the end of Sierra Leone’s civil war in 2002. The 2023 election was held amid growing violent rhetoric, resulting in sporadic clashes.

ECOWAS, AU, UN mission members, President Bio and government officials, after the brokered Tripartite Peace meeting last Wednesday at State House

Samura Kamara, on swearing in of President Bio exactly a year today, had “categorically” rejected the results.

President Bio, on the other hand, maintained his confidence of victory, stating that if time permits, he will defeat Kamara in a re run election as he did in 2018.

A major triumph of the Bio government so far are numerous. The major ones include commencement of the “Feed Salone” program, the launching of Leone Rock processed iron ore project, launch of sardine manufacturing project, the launch of gas powered program for uninterrupted electricity supply.

The major travails include the political crises, that was successfully brokered by the Tripartite body, including ECOWAS, AU, UN, the SLPP government and the opposition APC, on June 19, 2024, that brought back APC to the tripartite peace table.

President Bio, left, embracing Samura Kamara after the peace talks last week

The APC withdrew from the peace talks on 14, June 2024, stating refusal of access by ECSL to “disaggregated” results.

The country’s electoral laws are silent on disaggregated results at polling stations. Never in the country’s electoral history has disaggregated results been tabulated or announced, even under British rule.

The successful outcome of the ECOWAS, AU and UN joint mission, last Wednesday 19 June, 2024, that snowballed into a warm embrace of President Bio and Samura Kamara has now paved way to normalcy in the country today.

*Abubakar Hashim is the News Magazine West Africa Bureau Chief, based in Sierra Leone