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Karim Mohamed Gegbai has been elected as the new Paramount Chief of Dodo Chiefdom in Kenema District, Eastern Sierra Leone, following a closely contested runoff election conducted by the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL) in collaboration with the Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs (MLG&CA).
The election, held on Saturday, 23rd May 2026, saw four qualified candidates initially contesting for the paramount chieftaincy throne. The candidates were Gegbai Maada Jinna Francis, Gegbai Karim Mohamed, Kpakra Faba Sulaiman, and Njollah Junisa Musa.
According to the ECSL, a total of 808 traditional authorities participated in the electoral process. However, no candidate secured the required majority in the first round of voting, prompting a runoff between the two leading candidates — Karim Mohamed Gegbai and Faba Sulaiman Kpakra.
In the final runoff election, Karim Mohamed Gegbai emerged victorious after polling 420 votes out of 730 valid votes cast, defeating his closest rival, Faba Sulaiman Kpakra, who secured 248 votes.
Karim Gegbai had earlier emerged as the front-runner in the first round with 347 votes but failed to attain the threshold required to secure an outright victory. This led the ECSL to officially announce a second round of voting.
The electoral process was supervised and validated by appointed Assessor Chiefs in line with the Chieftaincy Act of 2009 to ensure legitimacy and compliance with traditional procedures. Senior officials from both the ECSL and the Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs also monitored the election process.
Following the conclusion of the runoff, the Provisional Secretary from the Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs formally declared Karim Mohamed Gegbai as the newly elected Paramount Chief of Dodo Chiefdom.
The final attestation document validating the election results was subsequently signed by the Assessor Chiefs and the District Election Manager for Kenema District.
Dodo Chiefdom hosts a critical infrastructure to the east of the country. The Dodo Hydroelectric Dam provides electricity to both Kenema City and Bo City.
