Sierra Leone voted in a general election on Wednesday, as President Ernest Bai Koroma prepared to step down after two consecutive terms.
Before dawn queues had formed at the polling stations, as election fever swept the struggling West African country.
But with 16 presidential candidates on the ballot requiring 55 per cent of the vote, observers are predicting a run-off later this month.
“There might be 16 presidential aspirants but only three have a chance of winning,” said Jamie Hitchen, director of Africa research firm AREA Consulting.
Mr Koroma has anointed former foreign minister Samura Kamara of the ruling All People’s Congress (APC) as his successor. Supported by Chinese businesses with stakes in the country, he is the favourite.
“When an APC rally through the city centre is marked by supporters waving large Chinese flags, not many questions need to be asked,” said Catherine Bolten, a professor of anthropology at Notre Dame University.
Meanwhile Julius Maada Bio of the opposition Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), who led a three-month junta government in 1996, has campaigned on promises of free universal education.
Both are steeped in scandal. While Mr Bio is accused of stealing $18 million (Dhs66.1 million) from state coffers in 1996, Mr Kamara has attracted the epithet “Mr 10 per cent”, following accusations of skimming from government contracts.
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Read more:
Liberians hail victory of ex-football star Weah in landmark vote
Sierra Leone's Peace Diamond: how the gem made its way from mud to marketplace
Death toll from Sierra Leone mudslides rises above 400
Comment: How Sierra Leone is rebuilding after the disaster of Ebola
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Elections have traditionally fallen along ethnic lines, creating a two-party hegemony in a country still scarred by a brutal civil war from 1991 to 2002.
But this year the National Grand Coalition, formed just three months ago and led by former UN diplomat Kandeh Yumkella, has rejuvenated Sierra Leonean politics, mobilising disgruntled voters across ethnic lines and shifting the discussion to policy.
All candidates agreed to suspend hostilities amid small-scale skirmishes, with a public “peace pledge” prior to the elections, which the African Union and others are expected to observe.
With more than 3.1 million people registered to vote, turnout is expected to exceed the 2012 record of 87 per cent.
Back then, Sierra Leone was a regional leader in education and Africa’s fastest growing economy, prized by international investors for its abundant iron-ore.
But in the following years its economic fortunes faltered.
A global commodities crash in 2013 closed the country’s main iron-ore mines, sending the economy into free-fall. And in 2014 an Ebola outbreak left more than 4,000 dead, including hundreds of health workers.
Today, just 200 public doctors serve the country’s 7 million people.
Currently two-thirds of the population are either jobless or underemployed in a country plagued by corruption.
Observers from the African Union, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the European Union and the British Commonwealth are all overseeing voting.
In a joint statement they urged security forces "to demonstrate professionalism and to enforce the law in a neutral and proportional manner," in a country where the police are frequently accused of brutality.
The results, which are expected to be announced in the coming days, could have wider significance.
“West Africa has seen three peaceful transfers of power between political parties in the last 16 months, in Ghana, Gambia and Liberia,” said Mr Hitchen. “Sierra Leone could be a fourth.”
Getting there
The flights
Flydubai operates up to seven flights a week to Helsinki. Return fares to Helsinki from Dubai start from Dh1,545 in Economy and Dh7,560 in Business Class.
The stay
Golden Crown Igloos in Levi offer stays from Dh1,215 per person per night for a superior igloo; www.leviniglut.net
Panorama Hotel in Levi is conveniently located at the top of Levi fell, a short walk from the gondola. Stays start from Dh292 per night based on two people sharing; www. golevi.fi/en/accommodation/hotel-levi-panorama
Arctic Treehouse Hotel in Rovaniemi offers stays from Dh1,379 per night based on two people sharing; www.arctictreehousehotel.com
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Mountain Classification Tour de France after Stage 8 on Saturday:
- 1. Lilian Calmejane (France / Direct Energie) 11
- 2. Fabio Aru (Italy / Astana) 10
- 3. Daniel Martin (Ireland / Quick-Step) 8
- 4. Robert Gesink (Netherlands / LottoNL) 8
- 5. Warren Barguil (France / Sunweb) 7
- 6. Chris Froome (Britain / Team Sky) 6
- 7. Guillaume Martin (France / Wanty) 6
- 8. Jan Bakelants (Belgium / AG2R) 5
- 9. Serge Pauwels (Belgium / Dimension Data) 5
- 10. Richie Porte (Australia / BMC Racing) 4
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Results
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 Group 1 (PA) US$75,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
Winner: Ziyadd, Richard Mullen (jockey), Jean de Roualle (trainer).
7.05pm: Al Rashidiya Group 2 (TB) $250,000 (Turf) 1,800m
Winner: Barney Roy, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
7.40pm: Meydan Cup Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 2,810m
Winner: Secret Advisor, Tadhg O’Shea, Charlie Appleby.
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Plata O Plomo, Carlos Lopez, Susanne Berneklint.
8.50pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: Salute The Soldier, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass.
9.25pm: Al Shindagha Sprint Group 3 (TB) $200,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Gladiator King, Mickael Barzalona, Satish Seemar.
Premier League results
Saturday
Tottenham Hotspur 1 Arsenal 1
Bournemouth 0 Manchester City 1
Brighton & Hove Albion 1 Huddersfield Town 0
Burnley 1 Crystal Palace 3
Manchester United 3 Southampton 2
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 Cardiff City 0
West Ham United 2 Newcastle United 0
Sunday
Watford 2 Leicester City 1
Fulham 1 Chelsea 2
Everton 0 Liverpool 0
Profile of Foodics
Founders: Ahmad AlZaini and Mosab AlOthmani
Based: Riyadh
Sector: Software
Employees: 150
Amount raised: $8m through seed and Series A - Series B raise ongoing
Funders: Raed Advanced Investment Co, Al-Riyadh Al Walid Investment Co, 500 Falcons, SWM Investment, AlShoaibah SPV, Faith Capital, Technology Investments Co, Savour Holding, Future Resources, Derayah Custody Co.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
England's Ashes squad
Joe Root (captain), Moeen Ali, Jimmy Anderson, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes.
