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June 26, 2023

Rival Candidates Claim Victory in Sierra Leone Election as Police Raid Opposition HQ
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In Sierra Leone, voters took to the polls to choose a new president over
the weekend amid a catastrophic economic crisis and spiraling living
costs. Current President Julius Maada Bio and his main opponent, Samura
Kamara, have both claimed victory, though official results have yet to
be released. Violent clashes erupted following the election, with police
firing tear gas at supporters of the All People's Congress opposition
party as they awaited election results outside the party's headquarters
in the capital Freetown. One woman was severely wounded by the
crackdown. A party representative spoke to reporters as heavily armed
soldiers forced people from the building.

Sidi Yaya Tunis: "We were just here on a press conference. And then, the
next thing we knew, we started hearing firing, and our whole office is
surrounded by police and army. All of the vehicles around have been
damaged, including that belonging to our presidential candidate. He is
also upstairs. We were all tear-gassed, live bullets shot."



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