Abdul Kargbo, a Member of Parliament from the main opposition All People's Congress (APC) party, has revealed that his party intends to challenge the Presidential election results announced by the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL) in court.
"We will seek legal means because that is what our party believes in," Kargbo stated.
During an interview with Radio Democracy, Kargbo also exposed irregularities at the ECSL Tally Centre in Port Loko, located in the North-Western Region.
"No one was shown the RR forms, and the inputting of figures was done in secrecy," Kargbo disclosed during the interview.
He expressed concern that the process was flawed because they were unable to verify whether the inputted figures matched the data they possessed. According to Kargbo, the APC had been assured by the ECSL that they would receive details of the inputted data for cross-checking and verification with their own records.
Kargbo further mentioned that they had confidence in the Commission following the assurance, but were taken by surprise when Chief Electoral Commissioner Mohamed Konneh announced 60 percent of the results.
"60 percent of the results should have included the 300 stations in Kambia, but when it was announced, the Kambia results were not even at the Tally Centre," Kargbo explained.
He stated that when they inquired about the source of the Kambia results, they were informed that the results were still in the field. This practice, Kargbo argued, violated provisions in the Public Elections Act since the results were uncertified.
In response, Umaru Napoleon Koroma, the National Secretary General of the ruling Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP), expressed support for the main opposition's decision to legally challenge the election results.
"I'm pleased that they are opting for legal means," Koroma remarked.
President Bio was declared the winner with just over 56 percent of the votes and was sworn in on the same day.
The APC leadership strongly contested the results, alleging that they were manipulated by members of Bio's party and the ECSL.