Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone has released Provisional Figures for Bye Elections in Tonkolili Constituency 056 last Saturday June 25th 2022.

According to Regional Electoral Commissioner A.M. Koroma, the APC candidate Jawah Sesay swept the polls with 5,487 votes amounting to 6.7% whilst SLPP candidate got a
mere 4,188 votes amounting to 43.3%. This means the Opposition APC has retaken the seat from the Governing SLPP which had won the seat in 2018.

Prior to the SLPP winning the seat in 2018, the seat perennially got won by APC candidates.

According to APC sources, an “aberration” had led to the loss of the seat to SLPP in 2018 but the aberration is now fixed and the APC will henceforth control the seat.

However, the SLPP National Chairman Dr. Prince Harding in a signed protest has impugned the results claiming the process was not free and fair.

Many other top SLPP officials are also making the same claims of rigging by the Opposition.

The Interim APC Chairman has however dismissed the cries of SLPP as being churlish.

The presumptive winner Jawah Sesay is expected to be confirmed today following which his presence in Parliament will make the APC become the party with the highest number of seats in Parliament with 59 as compared to the SLPP’s 58 seats.

However, the APC cannot be called the Majority party because a minimum threshold of 74 seats is needed before a party can be called the Majority party