{"page":"\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/resources-c03aa079.css\" /\u003e\n\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/lp_boclips_stylesheets-517835be.css\" media=\"all\" /\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-title='Vote counting starts as presidential poll closes' data-url='/boclips/videos/5c54c356d8eafeecae1607f2' data-video-url='/boclips/videos/5c54c356d8eafeecae1607f2' id='bo_player_modal'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='boclips-resource-page modal-dialog panel-container'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='react-notifications-root'\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-header'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-type'\u003e\n\u003ci aria-hidden='true' class='fai fa-regular fa-circle-play'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\nVideo\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch1 class='rp-title' id='video-title'\u003e\nVote counting starts as presidential poll closes\n\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-actions'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='mr-1'\u003e\n\u003ca class=\"btn btn-success\" data-posthog-event=\"Signup: LP Signup Activity\" data-posthog-location=\"body_link_boclips\" data-remote=\"true\" href=\"/subscription/new\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGet Free Access\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e for 10 Days\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e!\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-body'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-info'\u003e\n\u003cdiv aria-label='Hide resource details' class='rp-hide-info' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Expand resource details' class='rp-expand-info fai fa-solid fa-up-right-and-down-left-from-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Compress resource details' class='rp-compress-info fai fa-solid fa-down-left-and-up-right-to-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-rating'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='resource-pool'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-label'\u003ePublisher:\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-name'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='text'\u003e\u003ca data-publisher-id=\"30356011\" href=\"/search?publisher_ids%5B%5D=30356011\"\u003eCurated Video\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-description'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='short-description'\u003e1. Wide of police outside main opposition party All People's Congress (APC) headquarters2. Mid of policeman in the street holding gun3. Mid of two policemen arguing with APC supporters4. Mid of APC supporters protesting over some...\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='full-description hide'\u003e1. Wide of police outside main opposition party All People's Congress (APC) headquarters\u003cbr/\u003e2. Mid of policeman in the street holding gun\u003cbr/\u003e3. Mid of two policemen arguing with APC supporters\u003cbr/\u003e4. Mid of APC supporters protesting over some allegedly missing ballots at polling stations\u003cbr/\u003e5. SOUNDBITE: (English) Ec Air Comba, policeman:\u003cbr/\u003e\"I cannot count their numbers (of the APC supporters). I cannot mention it. But they came out. Took away my magazine, they wanted me to, they were instigating me to fire. But I cannot fire because this is a peaceful election. We cannot use arms against our brothers, we cannot use arms against our sisters. Because we want to conduct it (the election) to the body, the body of international law. We know that we, the Sierra Leonean police, we are fighting this issue, we are taking this cause for granted, we are not going to compromise, with any ugly situation in this nation any longer.\"\u003cbr/\u003e6. Wide of man with amputated leg walking with crutches, crowd in background\u003cbr/\u003e7. Mid of APC supporters chanting (English) \"No violence, no violence.\"\u003cbr/\u003e8. Mid of election officials emptying ballot box\u003cbr/\u003e9. Mid of counting operations starting\u003cbr/\u003e10. SOUNDBITE: (English) Marie Anne Isler, European Union Chief Observer:\u003cbr/\u003e\"Today is an important election day. Also it was quite good. But it's only one part of the electoral process. Now is one of the most sensitive points: the counting, the tallying, and that is what we are observing now.\"\u003cbr/\u003e11. Mid of election official counting ballots\u003cbr/\u003e12. Mid of observers watching counting operations\u003cbr/\u003e13. Mid of election officials during counting operations\u003cbr/\u003e14. Close-up of ballots being counted\u003cbr/\u003e15. Mid of observer watching counting operations\u003cbr/\u003e16. Mid of election officials counting ballots\u003cbr/\u003eVote counting began in Sierra Leone on Saturday, as polls closed in the countries first Presidential elections, since UN peacekeepers withdrew two years ago.\u003cbr/\u003eMany hope that the historic poll will show this country can transfer power peacefully after being ravaged by coups and a long, diamond-fuelled civil war.\u003cbr/\u003eElectoral officials said the balloting had gone smoothly and vote counting began after polls closed.\u003cbr/\u003eBut AP Television pictures on Saturday showed supporters of the main opposition, All People's Congress party, demonstrating against the police outside their party's headquarters. \u003cbr/\u003eThey were chanting \"No violence, no violence\" and claimed some of the ballots had gone missing.\u003cbr/\u003eOne of the policemen outside the APC headquarters said the protesters were trying to instigate the police to open fire against them. \u003cbr/\u003e\"They came out. Took away my magazine, they wanted me to, they were instigating me to fire. But I cannot fire because this is a peaceful election. We cannot use arms against our brothers, we cannot use arms against our sisters,\" said Ec Air Comba, a policeman.\u003cbr/\u003eVoters arrived at polling stations before dawn, weathering a light drizzle and long lines, for a chance to choose from seven candidates. \u003cbr/\u003eThe most crucial period for the war-battered nation may come months down the road, when the public begins expecting real change from a new government.\u003cbr/\u003eDespite progress since the ten-year war ended in 2002, analysts say many of the root problems that caused the conflict - corruption, poverty and unemployment - remain.\u003cbr/\u003eSaturday's victor must take more than 55 percent of the vote to avoid a run-off between the top two finishers. \u003cbr/\u003eResults from Saturday's poll will be released progressively with final tallies within 12 days of voting.\u003cbr/\u003eDuring these days, counting and tallying operations will be watched very carefully by international observers, whose task is to check the whole electoral process.\u003cbr/\u003e\"Today is an important election day. Also it was quite good. But it's only one part of the electoral process. Now is one of the most sensitive points: the counting, the tallying, and that is what we are observing now,\" said Marie Anne Isler, European Union Chief Observer.\u003cbr/\u003eVice President and ruling party candidate Solomon Berewa, 69, is considered the front-runner. \u003cbr/\u003eHis biggest challenger is 54-year-old opposition party chief and businessman Ernest Bai Koroma. \u003cbr/\u003eAlso running: Charles Francis Margai, 62, a lawyer and former minister who heads a party that broke away from the ruling coalition 15 months ago.\u003cbr/\u003eSome 572 contenders are also vying for 112 parliamentary seats on Saturday's ballot.\u003cbr/\u003eAbout 2.6 (m) million of the nation's five (m) million people are registered to vote.\u003cbr/\u003eSierra Leone is one of the poorest countries in the world, ranked 176th of 177 nations on the United Nations Human Development Index. \u003cbr/\u003eThough its infrastructure has been restored to pre-war levels and donors last year forgave 1.6 (b) billion US dollars in crippling debt, the country has struggled to fight poverty and corruption, which is considered a serious drag on economic growth. \u003cbr/\u003eTransparency International ranks Sierra Leone one of the most corrupt nations on earth, 148th out of 163 surveyed.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='action-container flex justify-between'\u003e\n\u003cbutton aria-expanded='false' aria-label='Read more description' class='rp-full-description' type='button'\u003e\n\u003ci class='fai fa-solid fa-align-left'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003cspan id='read_more'\u003eRead More\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/button\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-report'\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv aria-labelledby='resource-details-heading' class='rp-info-section'\u003e\n\u003ch2 class='title' id='resource-details-heading'\u003eResource Details\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-resource-details clearfix'\u003e\n\u003cdiv 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