2007年VOA标准英语-Sierra Leone President Threatens State of Emerg

Sierra Leone president Ahmed Tejan Kabbah (file photo)

After a mostly peaceful first round, many are worried that recent skirmishes between supporters of Sierra Leone People's Party candidate Vice¹ President Solomon Berewa and those of the opposition² All People's Congress' Ernest Koroma could threaten to destabilize the runoff election set for September 8th.

Police fired tear gas to break up fights and rock throwing between the rival parties Sunday in Freetown. In the eastern Kano district a dawn-to-dusk curfew was declared, after several people were injured in clashes there. 

Sierra Leone police spokesman Chris Charley says the heightened tension could have been avoided if political leaders had better explained to their followers³ that a runoff was possible and how it would work.

"So expectations have been raised. They did not properly prepare the minds of their supporters that in an event when 55 percent of the vote was not attained⁴, there was going to be a runoff," said Charley.

Pedestrians5 pass in front of a campaign banner for presidential candidate and current vice president Solomon Berewa following the close of the polls, in Freetown " hspace="2" src="http://www.tingroom.com/upimg/allimg/070901/0944301.jpg" width="158" vspace="2" border="0" />

Pedestrians pass in front of a campaign banner for presidential candidate and current Vice President Solomon Berewa following the close of the polls, in Freetown

Police spokesman Charley says the police, in charge of election security following the withdrawal⁶ of U.N. troops in 2005, are being called on to use greater force to maintain calm.

"We are in a politically democratic environment and as such we start off with the softest approach," added Charley. "But if we feel that people want to take the law in their own hands, we definitely will come down heavily on them."

Johannesburg-based International Security Studies researcher, Issaka Souare, says President Kabbah's announcement that a state of emergency could be called is worrisome.

"He has threatened to bring in emergency legislation. That might not be the best solution because the campaigning is going on and if you have emergency legislation people are not going to be able to go out and campaign," said Souare.

Mr. Kabbah said in an address Monday that Sierra Leone had endured too much violence in its civil war ending in 2002 to allow chaos⁷ and unrest to take hold again.

In legislative⁸ elections, also held August 11, the All People's Congress won a majority of seats in parliament, taking control from the Sierra Leone People's Party. The elections were declared free and fair by observers.