Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, the candidate from the main opposition party, All People's Congress (APC), has raised concerns about the legitimacy of the recently announced results of the 2023 Freetown City Council elections.
The Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL) declared Aki-Sawyerr as the winner, defeating her main rival, Mohamed 'Gento' Kamara of the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP). However, the election outcome has been marred by controversy.
In a closely contested mayoral election, Aki-Sawyerr emerged as the victor, securing 51% of the votes with a total of 288,683 votes. Kamara, her main opponent, put up a strong fight, garnering 48% of the votes with a total of 268,213 votes. Yet, Aki-Sawyerr took to Twitter to express her doubts about the accuracy of the results, presenting evidence that has sparked a heated debate.
In a tweet, Aki-Sawyerr shared a spreadsheet containing links to uploaded copies of 1,289 Result Reconciliation Forms (RRFs) from 226 polling centres, representing 80% of the total. She asserted that the data from these RRFs revealed a significant discrepancy when compared to the officially announced results.
"I am pleased to share the spreadsheet below with links to uploaded copies of 1,289 #RRFs from 226 (80%) polling centres. The results data from these RRFs show 191,634 (66.1%) votes for Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr and 95,025 (32.78%) votes for Mohamed Gento Kamara," she stated.
According to the information provided, Aki-Sawyerr's analysis of the RRFs indicated that she received 191,634 votes, accounting for 66.1% of the votes, while Kamara obtained 95,025 votes, representing 32.78% of the votes. These figures deviate significantly from the officially declared results, raising doubts about the electoral process and its outcome.