Summary

Footage Information

ABCNEWS VideoSource
Sierra Leone Elections - Voting in Sierra Leone's first postwar elections
05/14/2002
APTN
VSAP338060
TAPE: EF02/0411 IN_TIME: 22:54:05 DURATION: 4:05 SOURCES: APTN RESTRICTIONS: DATELINE: Freetown - 14 May 2002 SHOTLIST: 1. Voters queuing 2. Close-up of woman's face 3. Woman voter waiting 4. SOUNDBITE (English) vox-pop, voter: "All of us in this country, we need peace. So that is why I'm saying that I want to cast my vote in order for us to maintain everlasting peace." 5. Woman voter waiting with baby 6. Crowd outside gate 7. Gates shut and crowd waiting beyond 8. Voters' faces peering through bars 9. Amputees queuing 10. Amputee Lamin Jusu Jaka, holding ID pass with his hooks, pan to face 11. Various of Jaka voting 12. SOUNDBITE (English) Lamin Jusu Jaka, voter: "It's going to be a new beginning of life because compared to the previous ten years of war which have taken place in this country people are looking to reinstate another new democratic government which will be able to address the ideas of the people of this country." 13. Group of women fanning elderly man, who looks unwell and is seated on the ground 14. Voters queuing 15. Set up shot of Margaret Novicki, UN Sierra Leone mission spokesperson 16. Cutaway to UN files 17. Novicki seated at computer terminal 18. SOUNDBITE (English) Margaret Novicki, UN Sierra Leone mission spokesperson: "We see the elections as a milestone in the peace process in Sierra Leone. Sierra Leoneans have gone through a terrible period of war and by being able to participate in choosing their leaders to lead them in to the future, it's the next step in the process. It's a consolidation of the peace process and we hope it's the beginning of a peaceful future for this country." 19. Sun shining through palm trees 20. Various of voters queuing 21. Voting slips 22. Voters registering 23. Various of United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) troops 24. Various of ammunition and weapons 25. President Kabbah greeting supporters outside polling station 26. Kabbah registering and receiving voting card 27. Various of Kabbah voting 28. Supporters applauding as Kabbah's car drives past 29. Various shots of UNAMSIL troops 30. Various of polling station with queues outside station 31. SOUNDBITE (English) voxpop, voter: "I will vote for the best person who in my opinion will bring peace and reconciliation as well as development to this country." 32. Voters queuing 33. Amputees on crutches waiting to vote 34. Agitated voters standing outside closed gates STORYLINE: Lengthy queues formed before dawn on Tuesday as Sierra Leoneans cast ballots in elections intended to turn the page after 10 years of savage fighting. Hours before the polls opened, voters hurried to secure places in line across the capital, Freetown. President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah was the first person to cast his ballot. He was greeted with applause by 400 people who had already formed two winding lines at dawn. Many voters credit Kabbah with helping to restore peace by bringing in the key UN and British troops that halted the rebel advance after 500 UN soldiers were taken hostage. The presidential and parliamentary elections are seen as a test of the West African country's hard-won peace. Nine parties fielded presidential candidates, and 11 were vying for the 112 parliamentary seats. More than 2.3 million of the country's 5 million people were registered to vote. Excluding minor incidents, election officials said campaigning was unusually peaceful. The last time a poll was held, in 1996, the rebels rejected the ballot and punished voters by chopping off their hands. The hacking off of hands, feet, ears, noses and lips subsequently became their signature atrocity. This time, however, the Revolutionary United Front rebels have officially disarmed and are participating in the vote. If no candidate wins 55 percent of the presidential vote, a run-off election will be held in two weeks. Sierra Leone, one of the world's poorest countries despite its diamond wealth, has been convulsed by coups, ethnic strife and civil war since independence from Britain in 1961.
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