Runoff between two candidates decides contest as independent observers validate process in Kenema District
THE Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone has successfully conducted the Paramount Chieftaincy Election in Dodo Chiefdom, Kenema District, bringing to a close a process that had twice been interrupted first by an unresolved vacancy, and more recently by a formal government suspension that had cast doubt over whether the election would proceed at all.
The election, held on Friday, May 23, drew the participation of over 800 Traditional Authorities a figure that underlines the depth of community investment in an institution that sits at the heart of local governance across Sierra Leone’s provincial landscape.
Four qualified candidates were cleared to contest the chieftaincy seat. Following a first round of voting that failed to produce an outright winner, election officials proceeded to a runoff between the two leading candidates: Gegbai Karim Mohamed and Kpakra Faba Sulaiman. The Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL), operating in collaboration with the Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs (MLG&CA), oversaw both rounds of voting in line with established legal and traditional procedures.
The election was monitored and validated by appointed Assessor Chiefs in accordance with the Chieftaincy Act of 2009, alongside senior officials from ECSL and the Ministry of Local Government. Under the Chieftaincy Act, 2009, recognition of the election of a Paramount Chief by the Government shall only take place after acceptance of the report on the elections by the Provincial Secretary and the Electoral Commission a safeguard designed to ensure that both customary legitimacy and constitutional procedure are satisfied before a new chief takes the throne.
To further reinforce public confidence in the outcome, the Election Observation Network (EON) was formally accredited under the Public Elections Act of 2022, with six independent observers deployed to monitor the process from start to finish.
The election’s completion is notable given its troubled recent history. In an official communication dated March 13, 2026, the Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs stated that the electoral process for the Paramount Chieftaincy election in Dodo Chiefdom, Kenema District, had been placed on hold following concerns raised within the affected chiefdom — a decision that also affected Jaluahun Chiefdom in Kailahun District and Imperri Chiefdom in Bonthe District. The ministry did not specify the nature of the concerns at the time, but indicated that authorities needed space to address issues raised before the process could continue.
The successful conduct of the election on May 23 signals that those concerns have been resolved to the satisfaction of the relevant authorities, and that the chiefdom can now move forward to the formal recognition and installation of its new Paramount Chief.
For many outside Sierra Leone’s provincial governance structure, the scale and seriousness of a Paramount Chieftaincy election can be difficult to appreciate. Paramount Chieftaincy elections form part of the traditional governance structure in Sierra Leone, where Paramount Chiefs are selected through a process involving eligible ruling houses within the chiefdoms.
The polling at any paramount chieftaincy election is supervised by the Electoral Commission, whose decision on any electoral issue is final. Voters are not the general public but members of the Chiefdom Council a body comprising the Paramount Chief, sub-chiefs, councillors, and taxpaying members of the community who are verified at a formal Declaration of Rights meeting before the ballot opens.
Once elected, a Paramount Chief rules until death, except for specific circumstances within the Act a tenure that makes the selection of the right individual a matter of generational consequence for any chiefdom.
The functions of a Paramount Chief include supervising the collection of local tax, preventing the commission of offences within the chiefdom, maintaining order and good government, preserving and promoting the customs and traditions of the chiefdom, and serving as an agent of development. In effect, the Paramount Chief is simultaneously a custodian of tradition, an arm of local government, and a development broker a combination of roles that explains why chieftaincy elections routinely attract fierce competition and deep community interest.
Dodo Chiefdom is located in Kenema District in Sierra Leone’s Eastern Province, with the town of Dodo serving as its capital. Kenema District is one of Sierra Leone’s most historically significant districts home to the country’s diamond mining heartland, a region that bore the brunt of the civil war’s violence in the 1990s, and a district where traditional governance structures have long served as stabilising forces in post-conflict community life.
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The successful conduct of the election in Dodo Chiefdom adds to a pattern of ECSL-managed chieftaincy elections across the country in 2026. In its official statement, the commission reaffirmed its commitment to delivering free, fair, transparent, and credible elections at every level of Sierra Leone’s governance architecture.
The formal recognition of the winner, once the Provincial Secretary and ECSL have accepted the election report, will complete the constitutional requirements for the new Paramount Chief to assume office and take the throne of Dodo Chiefdom.
