Former Mayor of Freetown, Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr has accused the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone (ECSL) of announcing results without following the due process of tallying them.

Aki-Sawyerr, who is seeking re-election as Mayor of Freetown under the opposition All People’s Congress (APC) stated that none of her party’s representatives present at regional tallying centers witnessed the inputting of data from Result and Reconciliation Forms (RRF), which contain records of votes cast for each candidate in the elections.

These forms are meant to ensure transparency and fairness, as they include crucial information from polling stations and center numbers, accessible to all stakeholders.

According to Aki-Sawyerr, the APC’s internal tally indicated their candidate had received 164,000 votes, representing a commanding 67% lead, as opposed to Maada Bio’s reported 60,000 votes.

She also noted that a particular station in Kambia had not submitted its tally by the time national results were announced.

Aki-Sawyerr expressed multiple concerns about the electoral process and stressed the importance of international observers echoing their sentiments. She highlighted the lack of transparency regarding the data being inputted into the system, emphasizing the absence of access to the RRF forms for verification. She further demanded that the electoral commission halt the result announcement until full access to the information is granted, as mandated by law, and certification is ensured.

According to Aki-Sawyerr, the law stipulates that political parties should receive signed copies of the RRF forms after voting, and replicas of these forms are supposed to be sent to district, regional, and national headquarters. She asserted that they possess these forms from all districts, which contradict the public statements made by the Chief Electoral Commissioner.