It can be recalled that the said by-election in Ward 196, Kambia district was cancelled following allegations of electoral mishaps and the country’s National Electoral Commission (NEC) was deeply criticised by the APC party, who claimed they won the election.

But the violence which erupted between supporters of both the APC and SLPP, in which a young 14-year-old boy died, threatened the lives of election officials, voters and observers.

According to a statement published the NEC, it had no choice but to cancel the election due to the violence and intimidation of voters.

However, the National Election Watch (NEW) – a coalition of civic and non-governmental organizations responsible for providing independent observation of elections in Sierra Leone, endorsed the decision of the National Electoral Commission to cancel the polling.