NEWS
President Warns Violence Will not be Tolerated During Sierra Leone Vote
By
Jul 4, 2008, 17:41

With the run-up to local elections marred by violence, Sierra Leone's president warned Thursday that the police will be out on force for the vote Saturday, seen as a popularity test for his government.

"The police will be out in their numbers to ensure a peaceful and credible election aided by the military ... if necessary," President Ernest Koroma said in a speech broadcast on television and radio.

He stressed that his government "shall not hesitate to ask the security forces to treat seriously any breaches of the peace and incidences of violent conduct."

In the last few weeks there have been reports of widespread violence, defacing of posters of rival candidates and intimidation by alleged supporters of the ruling All People's Congress (APC) party and the main opposition Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP).

The secretary general of the SLPP, which was ousted from power in last year's general elections, Joseph Saffa, accused the government of "intimidation, blackmailing" during the month-long campaign for the local elections which ended Thursday.

APC spokesman Edward Turay admitted that "the government is aware of reported incidents of violence perpetrated by supporters of political parties".

On Tuesday the election commission revealed that a significant number of candidates for had withdrawn, complaining of harassment.

One independent candidate, Salimatu Kamara, told AFP she was "forced" to abandon her campaign about three days ago after being threatened by APC supporters.

On Thursday riot police armed with tear gas canisters and truncheons were seen patrolling the streets of the capital Freetown to ward off any clashes between rival political supporters.

"We would act firm against anyone regardless of party affiliation," inspector Bockari Samura told AFP as he led a detachment on patrol in central Freetown.

One of the poorest nations of the world, Sierra Leone is struggling to rebuild after a decade-long civil war (1991-2001) that left 120,000 people dead and ten of thousands mutilated.