The People’s Democratic Party (PDP), yesterday successfully completed the nomination process of their Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates at the National Electoral Commission (NEC) headquarters, Tower Hill, for the forth- coming Presidential and Local councils elections.
Gibrilla Kamara and Madam Mary Harding former Councillor under the umbrella of the All Peoples Congress (APC) party in ward 393 constituency 112, in the 2008 Local Council election are the sixth candidates to be certified as Presidential and Vice Presidential aspirants by NEC.
Dressed in blue traditional attire with their party colour, Gibrilla Kamara together with his running-mate Madam Mary Harding in white African attire, went through the entire process within 40 minutes, without any objection, as they paid their nomination fees to the Finance Office desk in the nomination centre at NEC headquarters.
As part of the process and a fulfillment of the Vienna Declaration of 2007 in relation to good governance, the Presidential Candidate was asked by the National Returning Officer Madam Thorpe to pick one topic in the ballot box to be discussed before the signing of their documents. Gibrilla Kamara chose the topic ‘To support effective civil society engagement’ which is the fifth recommendation of the Vienna Declaration of 2007
Madam Thorpe asked him if he happens to form a government, how he will engage the Civil Society? In response, Gibrilla Kamara stated that ‘everything is about trust’ because if the people do not trust you, then you are bound to fail,” he said.
He maintained that he will go all out to support civil society by engaging and promoting them in order to gain trust from the people of this country ‘simply because everything about governance depends on trust’
According to Madam Harding, most people do not believe in women participation in politics, as a result, they were left out of most governance issues, but “I want to prove them wrong, as I have been doing during my tenure as Councillor from 2008 to 2012. If I am Vice President, I will ensure that women participation is guaranteed” explaining that leadership is about performance and not gender. “Women can do it better if given the chance” she said
Gibrilla Kamara said that the nomination process was free and credible, as they have gone through it without any problem in less that an hour, adding that they hope the Commission will continue with their good work in ensuring free and fair elections, as he has 80% chance of winning the Presidential elections come November 2012.
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