Article: Democratic feat bodes well: just five years after a brutal civil war, Sierra Leone has changed leadership peacefully through the ballot box and now begins the long haul back to economic growth. The omens are good says Katrina Mason, reporting from Freetown.(SIERRA LEONE)

Were it not for the dirty exhaust fumes and the rubbish you could almost smell it in the air. The roads look as bad as before, the electricity supply is just erratic. But change is afoot in Sierra Leone.

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When 54.5% of voters picked former insurance executive Ernest Bai Koroma as their leader in a second round presidential runoff, power in Sierra Leone--just five years from war--switched hands largely peacefully through the ballot box.

There were congratulations from all sides, including the outgoing president, Ahmad Tejan Kabbah and the ruling party's candidate (then Vice President Solomon Berewa) who competed for the top job ...

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