Sierra Leone starts vote count

BALLOT counting was under way in Sierra Leone last night, a day after presidential and legislative elections seen as a test of whether the African nation has emerged from its bloody past.

Voters came out in droves to peacefully cast ballots on Saturday to choose a new leader to succeed President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah and a fresh set of lawmakers to fill the 112-seat parliament.

The contest was tight between the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) party and the All People’s Congress (APC). After the first round, neither is tipped to win the absolute majority required.