Sierra Leone Makes Major Decision After Second Round of ICJ Judge Voting

Sierra Leone has withdrawn Professor Charles Chernor Jalloh from the International Court of Justice race and backed Kenya’s candidate, Professor Phoebe Okowa.

The decision came after the second round of voting failed to settle the contest for the remaining seat.

Sierra Leone’s representative to the United Nations announced that the country would no longer support Jalloh and would instead back Okowa.

The move was intended to bring African support together behind the Kenyan candidate as voting continued.

The envoy said divisions among African countries could leave the continent without enough representation on the court.

He argued that protecting Africa’s place on the bench was more important than supporting an individual national candidate.

The representative also cited Okowa’s legal experience and her achievement as the first African woman elected to the United Nations International Law Commission.

Okowa had a difficult second round, receiving 87 votes in the General Assembly and four in the Security Council.

She needed at least 97 votes in the Assembly and eight in the Council to secure election.

Candidates must win an absolute majority in both bodies, which vote separately, to join the 15-member court.

Four candidates had already secured the required support in both bodies during the first round.

They included representatives from the United Kingdom, France, Jordan and Singapore.

Okowa was seeking a full nine-year term after joining the court in November 2025 to fill a vacancy left by Judge Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf.

Her current term was due to end on February 5, 2027, with new terms scheduled to begin the following day.

Sierra Leone’s decision removed Jalloh from the contest and added its support to Kenya’s effort to retain a place on the court.

The voting later moved to a third round, where Okowa faced Peru’s Luz del Carmen Ibáñez Carranza.

Okowa won with 13 votes in the Security Council, while her rival received none, securing re-election for a full term from 2027 to 2036.

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