Julius Maada Bio has been sworn in as Sierra Leone’s new President hours after the electoral commission announced his victory.

The opposition candidate who won 51 percent of votes cast in the March the 31st run off was sworn in at a hotel in the capital, Freetown.

Samura Kamara, the candidate of the ruling All People’s Congress, got 48 percent in the tightly contested poll.

Maada Bio, a former military junta leader, replaces outgoing President Ernest Bai Koroma, who could not seek re-election due to term limits.