The Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL) supervised the Village Head Elections held in the Western Area Rural District on Saturday, October 28, 2023.

The ECSL’s Preliminary Statement indicated that voting began promptly at 7:00 am in a total of 666 polling stations located across 88 villages. The process was largely peaceful throughout the day.

However, while the majority of stations reported smooth operations, there were a few incidents at specific locations. The ECSL is currently keeping a close eye on these incidents.

Candidates’ representatives were on hand at all voting locations. Furthermore, the Sierra Leone Police ensured their noticeable presence at each polling center, ensuring order and security. Several observers, including representatives from the Elections Observation Network, Sierra Leone Civil Rights Coalition, International Human Rights Commission, and Diaspora Focus, were present to scrutinize the election process.

Voting concluded by 5:00 pm, with the counting of votes beginning shortly thereafter at the individual polling stations. The ECSL has plans to start the collation and tallying of the election results at its Data Centre in Wellington, Freetown, on Sunday, October 29, 2023, from 10:00 am onwards.

The ECSL will release provisional results once tallying concludes. However, an official announcement regarding the final results will be shared in due course. The commission remains dedicated to upholding a transparent and credible electoral process in Sierra Leone.