Sierra Leone votes in national elections amid economic crisis

Voting is under way in Sierra Leone’s tightly contested presidential and parliamentary elections amid a cost-of-living crisis.
Polling stations opened later than the scheduled time of 7am in the capital, Freetown, AFP journalists said on Saturday. They were due to close at 5pm (17:00 GMT).
Some 3.4 million people are registered to vote, 52.4 percent of whom are under 35 years old, according to an electoral commission spokesman.
13 candidates are vying for the presidential post, including incumbent Julius Maada Bio, with a crippling economic crisis, which sparked deadly riots last year, on top of the poll agenda.
Presidential candidates must secure 55 percent of valid votes for a first-round win.
Incumbent Bio’s main challenger is Samura Kamara of the All People’s Congress (APC) party.

Al Jazeera’s Ahmed Idris reports from Freetown, Sierra Leone.

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