Sierra Leone: Turnout was high in the first poll since UN peacekeepers left the war-ravaged country, writes Mary Fitzgerald, Foreign Affairs Correspondent in Freetown.
It was the moment Louisiana Jones had been waiting for. Standing at a black curtained booth in a dilapidated classroom in the western end of Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown, she voted for only the second time since her country emerged from more than a decade of civil war in 2002. "That felt good," she beamed, holding up her ink-stained finger.
Jones also stood for election, one of a handful of female candidates in a country where politics is dominated by men backed by powerful tribal chiefs.
"Why did I stand? Because like everybody else I'm disgusted with the way things are going in this country - so many people are living without electricity, water and proper healthcare. We must have change and I wanted to be part of that."
More than 2.5 million people - just over 90 per cent of eligible voters - had registered to take part in Saturday's election, the first since UN peacekeepers left two years ago. Turnout was high for a poll widely considered to be a test of stability for war-ravaged Sierra Leone, with many turning up before dawn to make sure they were among the first to vote.
Voting was generally peaceful and orderly, although some minor disturbances were reported in some areas of Freetown after polling stations closed. Yesterday Sierra Leoneans huddled around radios as local stations broadcast the first results from the presidential and parliamentary elections. Early returns suggested the possibility of a September run-off in the presidential race between Ernest Bai Koroma of the opposition All People's Congress (APC) and vice-president Solomon Berewa, the ruling Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) candidate.
Some fear violence could yet erupt, saying the real test is whether political leaders and their supporters accept the results. "We are now entering the difficult part - when people start seeing the results," said Victor Angelo, head of the UN mission in Sierra Leone. "It's a delicate situation and we have to do everything we can to convince people that the elections are credible and there is no reason for not accepting the results."
Across Freetown, the third presidential front-runner was listening to the results trickle in at his heavily guarded home high above the city's shoreline. Charles Margai formed his People's Movement for Democratic Change (PMDC) party last year, breaking away from the SLPP. The nephew of the country's first prime minister, Margai was educated at Blackrock College and UCD before training as a lawyer. Conceding that it looked like he was now out of the race for president, Margai said he was happy with his party's showing so far in the parliamentary polls but warned that tensions between the APC and SLPP could escalate.
"We are at a very critical stage security-wise," he said, as relatives and supporters in his trademark orange T-shirts milled around. "Things are very fragile. If there is to be a run-off, then we could see serious violence if there's any attempts to rig it. We're not out of the woods yet."
Victoria Saidu Kamara, a female APC candidate who won a parliamentary seat in the densely populated and desperately poor eastern end of Freetown, said her party's strong polling showed a desire for change. "Areas like my constituency are like a forgotten land and people are fed up. This is the proof," she added. She and Louisiana Jones took part in a training programme for women candidates run by the Campaign for Good Governance, a civil society group which receives funding from the Irish Government channelled through Christian Aid.
Meanwhile, Irish MEP Eoin Ryan, part of a European Parliament delegation visiting Sierra Leone to observe the elections, said he would recommend an increase in EU aid to the country.
"Presently, the EU is committed to giving €200 million to Sierra Leone between 2007-2013, monies which will be spent on a range of important projects. However, the people of Sierra Leone will need a greater level of financial assistance from the EU," he said.