Sierra Leone

On 10 January 2009, parliamentary bye-elections were held for Constituency 87 in Pujehun District and Constituency 106 in the Western Area Urban District. For Constituency 87, the Court of Appeal verdict nullified the 2007 Parliamentary Elections result, and the seat has been vacant since the 15 July 2008. In Constituency 106, the death of a member of parliament in November 08 left the seat vacant for the Constituency.
 

In order to fill the vacant seats in the Parliament within six months, The National Electoral Commission (NEC) had declared 10 January 2009 as the day for bye-elections. In preparation for the elections, the NEC conducted voter education and sensitization, nominated of the candidates, printed manuals and ballot papers, and recruited and trained of the polling personnel. Additionally, the NEC was also responsible for the delivery of polling materials and deployment of staff, accreditation of election observers and party agents, and the deployment of security personnel for violence-free elections. UNDP made a contribution to this exercise by providing financial and logistical support through procurement of paper materials.

For the election day, total of 108 polling stations were established for the two constituencies (47 for Constituency 87 and 61 for Constituency 106). The voter turnout in Constituencies 87 and 106 was 45.9 % and 30.6% respectively. In Constituency 87, the candidates for SLPP, APC and PMDC received 5,031 votes, 2,032 votes, and 1,984 votes respectively. In Constituency 106, the candidates for APC, SLPP, PMDC, and NDA received 2,906 votes, 1,484 votes, 256 votes, and 34 votes respectively. Thus the SLPP candidate was elected as a member of parliament from Constituency 87, and the candidate from APC was elected from Constituency 106.

The process of the two bye-elections was monitored by observers, and all stakeholders accepted the results and the conduct of the elections as free, transparent and credible.