U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s warning, made on his first and last official visit to Africa, that “African countries” should be careful not to “forfeit their sovereignty” in their dealings with China seems particularly pertinent as Sierra Leone heads to the polls for the second time later this month. Following an inconclusive result in the first presidential election last Tuesday, the next election will be a two-horse race between the ruling All People’s Congress (APC) and the Sierra Leone People’s Party (The National Grand Coalition, once touted as a likely contender to break Sierra Leone’s two-party system, was decisively routed, achieving only 6.9 percent of the vote). Support for the APC, which came in a narrow second place in the first round of voting, stems from a surprising source; not just from native Sierra Leoneans, but also Sierra Leone’s biggest trading partner, China.
