Koroma was a clear underdog to longtime APC leader Edward Turay who was the favourite and was expected to easily win the APC leadership yet again. Koroma stressed that under the APC leadership of Edward Turay, the party had lost a significant number of seats in parliament and had lost trust among Sierra Leoneans, even in its traditional stronghold in Northern Sierra Leone. Koroma said the party will continue to lose even more support unless the party moves to a new direction that will care more about the interest of Sierra Leoneans. The APC was thought to be divided between the old guards wing of the party leady by Edward Turay, and the new generation wing of the party led by Ernest Bai Koroma.