General elections were held in

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...

on 17 November 2012. The result was a sweeping victory for the ruling

All People's Congress The All People's Congress (APC) is one of the two major political parties in Sierra Leone, the other being its main political rival the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP). The APC has been the main opposition party in Sierra Leone since 4 Ap ...

. Its leader, incumbent president

Ernest Bai Koroma Ernest Bai Koroma (born 2 October 1953) is a Sierra Leonean politician who served as the fourth President of Sierra Leone from 17 September 2007 to 4 April 2018. Born and raised in Makeni in northern Sierra Leone, Koroma spent more than 24 ...

, won 58.7% of the vote, enough to win a second term without the need for a runoff. The APC also won 67 of the 112 elected seats in Parliament. To date, it is the APC's best showing at an election since the restoration of multiparty politics in

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

Candidates

In April 2007, the APC endorsed incumbent

for a second term. He was challenged by former President and general

Julius Maada Bio Julius Maada Wonie Bio (born 12 May 1964) is a Sierra Leonean politician, and the current president of Sierra Leone since 4 April 2018. He is a retired brigadier general in the Sierra Leone Army and was the military head of state of Sierra Leo ...

of the

Sierra Leone People's Party The Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) is one of the two major political parties in Sierra Leone, along with its main political rival the All People's Congress (APC). It has been the ruling party in Sierra Leone since April 4, 2018. The SLPP d ...

. On July 31, 2011, Bio defeated

Usman Boie Kamara Alhaji Usman Boie Kamara (2 January 1949 — 11 December 2020) is a Sierra Leonean politician, businessman and mining engineer who has been Minister of Trade and Industry (Sierra Leone), Minister of Trade and Industry of Sierra Leone since 201 ...

for the party's nomination. In the elections for the twelve Chief seats in Parliament, only four were contested.

Results

President

Koroma won 59% of the vote in the first round, exceeding the 55 percent threshold required to win the presidency in a single round.

By district

Parliament

By-elections

Three seats were left vacant, with no election taking place in constituencies 5, 12 and 92 (Western Area Rural District). The election was delayed in Western Area Rural District due to the death of PMDC candidate, and a by-election was held on 9 February 2013. The result was a victory for the APC candidate, who received 61% of the vote.

Aftermath

Results showed Koroma winning in the first round of voting, receiving 58.7% of the vote against 37.4% for the SLPP candidate, Bio. If he had received less than 55% of the vote, a second round would have been necessary. Following the announcement of results, Koroma was promptly sworn in for another term as President on 23 November 2012. He said that he would "continue to attract investment" and "continue to fight corruption".Sierra Leone's Koroma promises growth in new term
Reuters, 23 November 2012

References

{{Sierra Leonean elections

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

Elections in Sierra Leone

Presidential elections in Sierra Leone Sierra Election and referendum articles with incomplete results