(14 Aug 2007)
1. Various of Sierra Leone electoral commission news conference
2. SOUNDBITE: (English) Christiana Thorpe, head of Sierra Leone electoral commission:
"We are really appealing to the political party leaders present here to please tell your people to exercise patience. We also say if you allow us to work you will get it fast, if you don't allow us to work it will take as long as it takes, for us to get credible results."
4. Cutaway of journalists and international observers
5. SOUNDBITE: (English) Christiana Thorpe, head of Sierra Leone electoral commission:
"Saturday night we had to wait for that (inaudible) until about 10pm (22:00 GMT) we had army vehicles and the driver but we needed a police escort, so we had to have armed policemen coming. By that time at 10, the original plan was that all the materials should have been at the warehouse. It was around 10 and 11 that the trucks were going out to get the materials and the staff on the gates."
6. Various cutaways of journalists and international observers
STORYLINE
International observers commended Sierra Leone's election as well-organised and open while citizens awaited results on Monday from their first presidential ballot since United Nations peacekeepers withdrew from the war-battered West African country two years ago.
Many Sierra Leoneans see the poll as a chance to show that they have finally emerged from a legacy of coups and a decade-long, diamond-fuelled war as a multiparty state that can transfer power peacefully.
Seven candidates are vying to succeed President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah.
Term limits prevent the 75-year-old leader from running for a third, five-year term.
The head of the electoral commission, Christiana Thorpe, at a news conference on Monday appealed to the parties involved to be patient in waiting for the results.
"We are really appealing to the political party leaders present here to please tell your people to exercise patience. We also say if you allow us to work you will get it fast, if you don't allow us to work it will take as long as it takes, for us to get credible results," she said.
Thorpe said Saturday's vote finished on time and without incident at most polling centres, despite rain and long lines.
Still, there were disturbances reported.
Late Saturday, police used tear gas to disperse crowds of youths setting up makeshift roadblocks the east of the capital city of Freetown.
It was unclear what sparked the incident or if it was related to the polling.
International observers said the vote appeared to go relatively smoothly and fairly.
Results from Saturday's presidential and parliamentary poll will be released progressively, with final tallies within 12 days of voting.
Thorpe told reporters late on Sunday to expect the first provisional results on Monday.
The most crucial period for the war-battered nation may come months down the road, when the public begins expecting real change from a new government.
Despite progress since the 10-year war ended in 2002, analysts say many of the root problems that caused the conflict - corruption, poverty and unemployment, remain.
Ruling party candidate Vice President Solomon Berewa, 69, is considered the front-runner.
His biggest challenger is 54-year-old opposition party chief and businessman Ernest Bai Koroma.
Also running is Charles Francis Margai, 62, a lawyer and former minister who heads a party that broke away from the ruling coalition 15 months ago.
The victor must take more than 55 percent of the vote to avoid a run-off between the top two finishers.
Find out more about AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
Twitter: [ Ссылка ]
Facebook: [ Ссылка ]
Instagram: [ Ссылка ]
You can license this story through AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
Ещё видео!