General elections were held in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...

 on 26 and 27 February 1996 to elect a president

Heads of government of Sierra Leone

The following is a list of heads of government of Sierra Leone from 1954 until 1978, when a single party constitution was adopted, and President of Sierra Leone became head of government as well.-Heads of Government of Sierra Leone:-See also:...

 and Parliament of Sierra Leone

Parliament of Sierra Leone

The unicameral Parliament of Sierra Leone is the country's legislative body. It is sometimes known as the House of Representatives.The current Parliament, formed following elections held on 14 May 2002, has a total of 124 members. 112 members are directly elected in multi-member constituencies...

. A second round of voting in the presidential election was held on 15 March. It was the first election since multi-party politics had been reintroduced following a referendum on a new constitution

Sierra Leonean constitutional referendum, 1991

A referendum on a new constitution was held in Sierra Leone in August 1991. Voting was held over four days . The new constitution would restore multi-party politics, as the country had been a single-party state since the 1978 constitutional referendum.Of the approximately 2.5 million voters,...

 in 1991.

The parliamentary elections were won by the Sierra Leone People's Party

Sierra Leone People's Party

Sierra Leone People's Party is one of the two major political parties in Sierra Leone, along with the All People's Congress .-Formation:...

, whilst the All People's Congress

All People's Congress

The All People's Congress is one of the two major political parties in Sierra Leone, the other is the Sierra Leone People's Party . The party was founded in 1960 by Pa Mucktarru Kallay, Allieu Badarr Koroma,Alhaji Sheik Gibril Sesay C A Kamara-Taylor, S A T Koroma and Abu Bakarr S Bangura...

 (which was the sole legal party between 1978 and 1991) finished fourth. The presidential election was won by the SLPP's candidate, Ahmed Tejan Kabbah. However, he was deposed by a coup led by Johnny Paul Koroma

Johnny Paul Koroma

Johnny Paul Koroma was the Head of State of Sierra Leone from May 1997 to February 1998.-Youth and Education :Koroma grew up in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone. However, he was born in Tombodu, Kono District, in eastern Sierra Leone to Limba parents. He is from the same ethnic group as...

 in May 1997. In July 1999, Kabbah signed the Lomé Peace Accord

Lomé Peace Accord

The Lomé Peace Accord was a peace agreement signed on 7 July 1999 between the warring parties in the civil war that gripped Sierra Leone for almost a decade. President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah signed with the Revolutionary United Front leader, Foday Sankoh, granting Sankoh a position in the...

, which returned him to power.

Presidential elections

As no candidate won more than 55% of the vote in the first round, a second round of voting was held.

Results

Candidates	Parties	First round		Second round
		Votes	%	Votes	%
Ahmad Tejan Kabbah Ahmad Tejan Kabbah Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah served as President of Sierra Leone from 1996 to 1997 and again from 1998 to 2007.He worked for the United Nations Development Programme and returned to Sierra Leone in 1992...	Sierra Leone People's Party Sierra Leone People's Party Sierra Leone People's Party is one of the two major political parties in Sierra Leone, along with the All People's Congress .-Formation:...	266,893	35.80	608,419	59.50
John Karefa-Smart John Karefa-Smart Dr. John Albert Musselman Karefa-Smart was a politician from Sierra Leone and leader of the United National People's Party. He was an ordained Elder of the United Methodist Church.-Education:...	United National People's Party United National People's Party The United National People's Party is a political party in Sierra Leone.In 1996, the UNPP received 21.6% of the votes in the parliamentary election, winning 17 of the 68 seats...	168,666	22.62	414,335	40.50
Thaimu Bangura Thaimu Bangura Thaimu Bangura was a politician from Sierra Leone. He was a government minister from 1980-82 and again from 1996-1999. From 1991-1999, Bangura was the National Leader of the People's Democratic Party of Sierra Leone as well as their presidential candidate in the 1996 elections...	People's Democratic Party People's Democratic Party (Sierra Leone) The People's Democratic Party is a political party in Sierra Leone.At the last elections, 14 May 2002, the party won 1.0 % of popular votes and no seats....	119,782	16.07
John Karimu John Karimu John Arouna Karimu is a Mende hailed from Daru Village, Kailahun District, in the Eastern Region of Sierra Leone.He was a Lecturer at the Fourah Bay College University of Sierra Leone, where he met his wife Gertrude Gbessay Karimu née Sellu who was a student there as well. He later worked for the...	National Unity Party	39,617	5.31
Edward Turay Edward Turay Edward Mohammed Turay is a politician in Sierra Leone. He was leader of the All People's Congress from 1996 until 2002. He contested the 1996 national election for president; however, Turay lost the election after gaining just 5.1% of the first round of voting, good enough for fifth place...	All People's Congress All People's Congress The All People's Congress is one of the two major political parties in Sierra Leone, the other is the Sierra Leone People's Party . The party was founded in 1960 by Pa Mucktarru Kallay, Allieu Badarr Koroma,Alhaji Sheik Gibril Sesay C A Kamara-Taylor, S A T Koroma and Abu Bakarr S Bangura...	38,316	5.14
Abu Aiah Koroma Abu Aiah Koroma Abu Aiah Koroma was a lawyer and politician in Sierra Leone. Koroma began his political career as Attorney General in 1967 and 1968. He returned to government in 1976 when he became Managing Director of the National Diamond Mining Company until 1987. In 1991 and 1992, Koroma was the Minister of...	Democratic Centre Party	36,779	4.93
Abass Bundu Abass Bundu Dr. Abass Chernor Bundu is a former politician and diplomat from Sierra Leone. Bundu was bon in the town of Gbinti, Port Loko District in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone to Fula and Temne parentage...	People's Progressive Party	21,557	2.89
Amadu Jalloh Amadu Jalloh Alhaji Amadu Jalloh is a politician in Sierra Leone. He contested the 1996 presidential election as a member of the National Democratic Alliance, where he finished in 8th place with 2.3% of the first round voting...	National Democratic Alliance National Democratic Alliance (Sierra Leone) The National Democratic Alliance is a political party in Sierra Leone. In the August 2007 general election, the party did not win any seats in parliament, and its presidential candidate, Amadu Jalloh , won only 17,748 votes, 0.96% of the total....	17,335	2.33
Edward Kargbo Edward Kargbo Edward Kargbo is a politician in Sierra Leone. He ran for President in 1996 but lost with 2.1% of the national vote.-References:...	People's National Convention	15,798	2.12
Desmond Luke Desmond Luke Desmond Edgar Fashole Luke is a former politician and lawyer in Sierra Leone. Luke had served as foreign minister , Minister of Health , and ambassador to the West Germany , France and the European Economic Community at various points in his political career...	National Unity Movement	7,918	1.06
Andrew Lungay Andrew Lungay Andrew Lungay is a politician in Sierra Leone. Lungay is currently a member of parliament and also ran in the 1996 presidential election as a member of the Social Democratic Party, receiving .7% of the national vote...	Social Democratic Party	5,202	0.70
Andrew Turay Andrew Turay Andrew Turay is a politician in Sierra Leone. He competed in the 1996 presidential election as part of the United National People's Party . He received 0.5% of the vote ....	National Peoples Party National Peoples Party The National Peoples Party is a political party in Pakistan most active in the province of Sindh and southern parts of Punjab. It was founded in 1986 by Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi after falling out with Benazir Bhutto and leaving her Pakistan Peoples Party.In the 2008 Pakistani general elections the...	3,925	0.53
Mohamed Sillah Mohamed Sillah Mohamed Yahya Sillah is Leader and National Chairman of National Alliance Democratic Party in Sierra Leone. He competed in the 1996 Presidential elections in Sierra Leone under the banner of the National Alliance Democratic Party . He was very new on the political scene in Sierra Leone at the time...	National Alliance Democratic Party National Alliance Democratic Party - History :In 1995, the people of Sierra Leone and the international community exalted pressure on the National Provisional Ruling Council , the then military regime in Sierra Leone to lift the ban on politics and conduct democratic elections in the country...	3,723	0.50
Total		745,511	100	1,022,754	100

Parliamentary elections

The SLPP won the most seats in the elections, but fell well short of a majority, with only 27 of the 68 elected seats.

Results

Party	Votes	%	Seats
Sierra Leone People's Party Sierra Leone People's Party Sierra Leone People's Party is one of the two major political parties in Sierra Leone, along with the All People's Congress .-Formation:...	269,888	35.94	27
United National People's Party United National People's Party The United National People's Party is a political party in Sierra Leone.In 1996, the UNPP received 21.6% of the votes in the parliamentary election, winning 17 of the 68 seats...	165,219	22.00	17
People's Democratic Party People's Democratic Party (Sierra Leone) The People's Democratic Party is a political party in Sierra Leone.At the last elections, 14 May 2002, the party won 1.0 % of popular votes and no seats....	114,429	15.24	12
All People's Congress All People's Congress The All People's Congress is one of the two major political parties in Sierra Leone, the other is the Sierra Leone People's Party . The party was founded in 1960 by Pa Mucktarru Kallay, Allieu Badarr Koroma,Alhaji Sheik Gibril Sesay C A Kamara-Taylor, S A T Koroma and Abu Bakarr S Bangura...	42,467	5.66	5
National Unity Party	39,285	5.23	4
Democratic Centre Party	35,632	4.75	3
People's Progressive Party	21,361	2.84	0
National Democratic Alliance National Democratic Alliance (Sierra Leone) The National Democratic Alliance is a political party in Sierra Leone. In the August 2007 general election, the party did not win any seats in parliament, and its presidential candidate, Amadu Jalloh , won only 17,748 votes, 0.96% of the total....	20,125	2.68	0
People's National Convention	19,019	2.53	0
National Unity Movement	8,885	1.18	0
Social Democratic Party	5,900	0.79	0
National People's Party National People's Party National People's Party may refer to:* National Peoples Party* Rashtriya Janata Dal* Rashtriya Lok Dal* National People's Party...	3,992	0.53	0
Indirectly elected paramount chief Paramount chief A paramount chief is the highest-level traditional chief or political leader in a regional or local polity or country typically administered politically with a chief-based system. This definition is used occasionally in anthropological and archaeological theory to refer to the rulers of multiple... s
12
Invalid/blank votes	4,656
Total	750,858	100	80
Source: Elections Today