WElections in Sierra Leone are held on a national level to elect the president and the unicameral Parliament. Sierra Leone has a multi-party system, with two or three strong parties.
WGeneral elections were held in Sierra Leone Colony and Protectorate for the first time on 28 October 1924. The National Congress of British West Africa won all three seats.
WGeneral elections were held in Sierra Leone Colony and Protectorate in November 1951.
WGeneral elections were held in Sierra Leone Colony and Protectorate in May 1957. A total of 39 seats were up for election, whilst another 12 paramount chiefs were indirectly elected.
WGeneral elections were held in Sierra Leone in May 1962, just over a year after the country gained independence from the United Kingdom. The first to be held under universal suffrage, they were won by the ruling Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP), although his party received fewer votes than independent candidates. SLPP leader Milton Margai remained Prime Minister.
WGeneral elections were held in Sierra Leone on 17 March 1967. They were won by the opposition All People's Congress, marking the first time that a ruling party had lost an election in sub-Saharan Africa. However, the APC was overthrown in a military coup hours after taking power. The party was later restored to office after a counter-coup the following year.
WGeneral elections were held in Sierra Leone on 15 May 1973. The result was a victory for the All People's Congress, which won 84 of the 85 elected seats. However, the main opposition, the Sierra Leone People's Party boycotted the election due to violence and alleged irregularities, and most APC candidates were elected unopposed.
WParliamentary elections were held in Sierra Leone on 6 May 1977. They were the last multi-party elections held in the country until 1996.
WParliamentary elections were held in Sierra Leone on 1 May 1982. They were the first elections since the country had become a one-party state under the 1978 constitution, with the All People's Congress being the sole legal party.
WParliamentary elections were held in Sierra Leone on 29 and 30 May 1986. As the country was a one-party state at the time, the All People's Congress was the only party allowed to run. They were the last elections held under the 1978 constitution, as a 1991 referendum returned the country to multi-party politics.
WA referendum on a new constitution was held in Sierra Leone in August 1991. Voting was held over four days. The new constitution would restore multi-party politics, as the country had been a one-party state since the 1978 constitutional referendum made the All People's Congress the only legally permitted party.
WGeneral elections were held in Sierra Leone on 26 and 27 February 1996 to elect the President and members of Parliament, with a second round of the presidential election on 15 March. They were the first elections since multi-party democracy had been reintroduced following a referendum on a new constitution in 1991, and the first multi-party elections held in the country since 1977.
WGeneral elections were held in Sierra Leone on 14 May 2002 to elect a president and parliament. Incumbent President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah of the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) was re-elected with more than 70% of the votes in the first round, meaning that a second round of voting was not required. In the parliamentary elections, the SLPP received almost 70% of the vote, winning 83 of the 112 seats. The All People's Congress became the main opposition party, replacing the United National People's Party.
WGeneral elections were held in Sierra Leone on 11 August 2007. Seven candidates competed in the first round of the presidential election; no candidate received the necessary 55% of the vote to win in the first round, and a second round was held between the top two candidates, Ernest Bai Koroma of the All People's Congress (APC) and Solomon Berewa of the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP), on 8 September. According to official results, Koroma won the election with 54.6% of the vote.
WLocal elections were held in Sierra Leone on 5 July 2008 for the first time since the Sierra Leonean Civil War. Following this election, the United Nations political mission UNIOSIL planned to withdraw. According to early results, the ruling All People's Congress is leading the Sierra Leone People's Party, with the People's Movement for Democratic Change clearly behind in third place.
WGeneral elections were held in Sierra Leone on 17 November 2012. The result was a sweeping victory for the ruling All People's Congress. Its leader, incumbent president Ernest Bai Koroma, won 58.7% of the vote, enough to win a second term without the need for a runoff. The APC also won 67 of the 112 elected seats in Parliament. To date, it is the APC's best showing at an election since the restoration of multiparty politics in 1991.
WGeneral elections were held in Sierra Leone on 7 March 2018 to elect the President, Parliament and local councils. Incumbent President Ernest Bai Koroma did not run for another term, as he was constitutionally ineligible, having served the maximum ten years in office.