Sierra Leone

Amidst all the stories about democracy faltering in Africa it is important to remember the gains that are being made around the continent, especially in post-conflict countries.

It's almost two years since President Ellen Sirleaf-Johnson came to power in Liberia. Progress as far is rebuilding the country is slow but ongoing, and perhaps the big news story is that there is no big news story. A quick search of BBC news website, reveals headlines about revealing clothes being banned in school and the discovery of ghost workers - a far cry from the days when the devastating civil war dominated the headlines.

Let's not forget the peaceful elections in Sierra Leone and the historic first democratic elections in DRC.

My message, yes - there is still a lot of work to be done, but progress is being made and we are increasingly seeing African countries finding solutions to their own problems.

The future can only be brighter, no?

On Saturday Sierra Leoneans voted on the run-off poll after the first round of presidential elections did not presented a clear winner. Although violence and tension in Sierra Leone increased during the campaign, the polls are widely accepted as free and fair. Due to preliminary results, the opposition leader Ernest Berewa won the poll in a tight race.

Read more about the election on BBC News online, as well as on the Mail and Guardian, on iol and on Al Jazeera. Join the debate in our forums: Why bother to vote?

After warnings of the current President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah to impose a state of emergency, the two candidates and the outgoing president met for talks on the weekend. After the ongoing campaigning was escorted by roits, violent attacks and clashes the current president wants to calm down the escalation of violence in order to secure 'politics, not war.'. Read more about the situation in Mail and Guardian and on BBC News online.

Join the debate in our forum: Can terrorism destroy democracy?