Ex-junta leader wins Sierra Leone seat

The winner needs 55% to avoid a runoff

Former military ruler Johnny Paul Koroma, who overthrew Mr Kabbah in 1997, has been elected to parliament in Tuesday's general election.

His Peace and Liberation Party won two seats in the western district of Freetown.

Johnny Paul Koroma enjoyed support from the army and police

But results so far show that incumbent President, Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, and his Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) have taken an overall lead in both the parliamentary and presidential vote.

In second place is the All People's Congress candidate Ernest Bai-Koroma - no relation to Johnny Paul. The other results from western Freetown gave the SLPP won four parliamentary seats, while two seats went to the former ruling APC.

However electoral officials say the overall trend could change when results come in from the north of Sierra Leone, the APC's stronghold.

The winner has to get 55% of votes to avoid a run off.

Born again

International observers have endorsed the elections in Sierra Leone as largely free and fair.

Votes are still being counted and a full result is not expected until later on Friday, but so far none of the major parties have complained of irregularities.

We didn't say there was a perfect democracy - far from it

Lloyd Axworthy
Commonwealth

Johnny Paul Koroma was toppled from power in 1998 by a Nigerian-led West African peace-keeping force.

He is now a Born-Again Christian and received considerable support from army and police officers who voted last week.

At a joint press conference, the observers from the Commonwealth, European Union and the United States Carter Centre said although there were logistical problems, these were not enough to affect the overall result.

High turnout

The European Union's observer, Johann van Hecke, described the election as "almost a miracle" after a decade of war.

Early results show Mr Kabbah ahead

The BBC's Mark Doyle in Freetown says there were some reservations about logistics and other issues, but the head of the Commonwealth mission, Lloyd Axworthy, summarised the observers' impressions as good:

"We didn't say there was a perfect democracy - far from it.

"But it was an awfully big first step. Now there has to be steps to follow it."

Turnout was high and there were no reports of violence in the vote which, it is hoped, will mark a definitive end to the 10-year civil war.

Correspondents say the polls were by far the most peaceful in Sierra Leone since independence from Britain in 1961.

New chapter

The head of the United Nations mission in Sierra Leone, Oluyemi Adeniji, said the election seemed to reflect citizens' enthusiasm for voting in a free environment after years of violence.

The election has been carefully organised and overseen

The British Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, described the peaceful nature of the polling as a remarkable achievement.

"These elections mark a new chapter of politics and peace in Sierra Leone's history.

"This is a remarkable achievement and clearly illustrates the real progress Sierra Leone is making towards lasting peace," he said.

Mr Straw's sentiments were echoed by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, who described the elections as "a major step on the road to lasting, sustainable peace".