FREETOWN, July 1 (Reuters) - Sierra Leone's main opposition party said it had decided to formally reject the results of the national election won by President Julius Maada Bio, citing "glaring irregularities", and called for a rerun of the June 24 poll.
Bio was re-elected for a second term with 56% of the vote, narrowly avoiding a run-off against main rival Samura Kamara of the opposition All People's Congress (APC).
But Kamara has questioned the official tally, while European election observers noted statistical inconsistencies.
In its first official statement on the full results, the APC said on Friday it rejected the outcome "given the glaring irregularities and violations of established electoral procedures."
"A rerun after an official declaration of results and a swearing-in ceremony is unconstitutional," he said by phone to Reuters.
Persons:
Julius Maada, Samura Kamara, Kamara, Mohamed Rahman Swaray, Swaray, Alessandra Prentice, David Holmes
Organizations:
People's Congress, Reuters, EU, Thomson
Locations:
FREETOWN, Sierra Leone, United States, Britain, Ireland, Germany, France