President Ernest Bai Koroma, having gone through the nomination process at the National Electoral Commission (NEC) yesterday, together with his running mates Alhaji Samuel Sam Sumana, declared “we will win the elections on first ballot”.
Dressed in black suit with white shirt and red tie, president Koroma was accompanied by his wife and other top party officials to witness the nomination process, as the seventh political party to complete the process, while members of the press and local and foreign observers, monitored it.
As part of the process, Madam Thorpe having certified the documents submitted by the APC for nomination of the Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates, asked President Koroma to choose one topic from the ballot box to be discussed in relation to good governance as stipulated by the Vienna Declaration of 2007
President Koroma was assisted by NEC officials to chose one topic from the ballot box, and chose ‘to support effective civil society engagement’ which is recommendation five of the Vienna Declaration
He maintained that having served as a President for the past five years, the scope and space given to civil societies during that period have never been given to them in the country’s history, as his government ensured that civil society activists were allowed to participate in government activities, adding that the essence of civil society is to serve as a watch dog to ensure that they speak for the voiceless and to participate in the preparatory of government policies, so that in the end they will become informed policies.
According to the President, civil societies have been very active in the areas of health, mining and other sector through the Open Government Initiative (OGI) where they reached out to the people, as they (government) have been enjoying that collaboration and “we are assuring Sierra Leoneans that we will continue to give the support that is required in capacity building”
In support of what President said, Alhaji Samuel Sam Sumana, his running mate, stated that Government should give space and recognise civil societies as they provide cheques and balances for leadership and transparency of any government and their government will continue to engage civil societies in decision-making.
In answering the question about why the APC is so sure about the first ballot victory, as they were stating that they will win with 75% in local council and 85% at central level, President Koroma responded that as a student “if you are preparing for an examination, your state of preparedness will clearly indicate to you where you will be” explaining that if one had done his or her assignments and have studied well, there is no need for him to fear the exams.
“We believe as a government, we have come a long way in ensuing that the agenda for change programmes are clearly defined”, he said, explaining that when they came as a government, they clearly defined their path in a way that will lead Sierra Leone in the five years of their government. “Looking back, we have not yet achieved all that we have set to achieve, but we have come a long way. It is this path, the turbulent path that we have been through, the successes and the challenges that we have overcome that is giving us the confidence. There is not going to be a match, we are definitely going to win at the first ballot,” he declared again.
At the end of the process, President Koroma together with his team, walked their way to State House where he and his running mate changed their attire and put on their famous red party colours, as they took to the streets of Freetown, heading towards Calaba Town and back to their party headquarter at Brookfield’s.
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