S Leone opposition to boycott parliament

2011-10-07 08:41

Freetown - Sierra Leone's two opposition political parties say they're boycotting the opening of parliament.

Both parties say they won't take part in Friday's session unless the ruling party investigates reports of political violence going back two years.

Sierra Leone is preparing to hold presidential and legislative elections next year. Already political rallies have descended into violence, leaving a top opposition presidential candidate seriously wounded.

Julius Maada Bio, who ruled the West African nation briefly in 1996 after a military junta seized power, is facing incumbent President Ernest Bai Koroma.

Tens of thousands were killed in Sierra Leone's 1991-2002 civil war. Koroma was elected in 2007 in the first presidential vote after the withdrawal of UN peacekeepers.

- AP