Sierra Leone's opposition All People's Congress (APC) has taken power by winning both presidential and parliamentary elections.
National Electoral Commission officials have confirmed that the APC's candidate, Ernest Bai Koroma, has prevailed in the country's presidential election, agencies reported today.
Reports from the BBC and Reuters quoted the commission as saying Koroma had won 54.6 percent of the vote, against Vice-President Solomon Berewa's 45.4 percent.
The APC won the parliamentary election last month. Koroma received the highest number of votes in the first round of presidential balloting, but not enough to secure election in one round. He and Berewa, the candidate of the ruling Sierra Leone People's Party, faced off in a second round on September 8.
Berewa was the chosen successor of President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah, who is stepping down after serving the maximum two terms as head of state. He went into the race the favourite.
Koroma has never held elective office. He was resoundingly beaten by Kabbah in the last election in 2002. However, he is seen by observers as having benefited from the government's failure to deliver social services. The APC made substantial gains in local government elections in 2004.
