The Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL) issued a press statement on November 3rd, acknowledging the receipt of forty-five petition cases from candidates involved in the recently concluded village head elections.

Out of these petitions, the Commission has dismissed 42 due to insufficient evidence to warrant a potential re-run. However, re-elections will take place in Bonga Wharf and No. 2 River, with ongoing investigations into petitions from Samuel Town. Additionally, voting will resume on November 4th in one of the two centers in Sussex Village, where voting was disrupted due to center misplacement.

Deputy Director of Media Communications, Christopher A.A. Jones, mentioned to Politico that the date for the re-run elections will be communicated to the public in due course.

The ECSL’s release highlighted the election’s conduct, noting that the Sierra Leone Police provided security at all polling centers, and candidate agents, Civil Society Groups, and the Media were accredited to observe the proceedings. Describing the elections as “largely peaceful” with minimal isolated cases of violence, the ECSL mentioned that 647 out of 84 villages’ results were entered into their database, representing 96.85% of all polling stations.

The village head elections took place on August 28th, 2023, for 88 out of 121 villages in the Western Rural District of Sierra Leone. Notably, 33 villages were declared uncontested after nominations, allowing 270 candidates to contest in the elections.