The Electoral College of the governing All People's Congress last night voted for Franklyn Bode Gibson as the party's candidate for Mayor of Freetown in November's municipal election. He polled 106 votes beating off seven others including two journalists.
Bode's closest challenger and current Acting Mayor Gibril Kanu got 56 votes. Journalist Theo Nicol polled 35 and Rolland Bankole-Gibson got 30.
Former Awoko newspaper columnist Winston Ojukutu-Macauley and Bishop Christian Cole each got two votes, while Haja Musu Mahdi who was not even present got one and Eustace Samuel King got naught.
According the electoral rules of the party none of the candidates got the 55% threshhold warranting a run-off. However the closest challenger Kanu chose to call it quits and endorsed Bode as the choice of the party.
The contest has been described by many observers as “the best the party has held” referring to it as “transparent, free and fair”.
In recent weeks, four journalists hung their pens, notebooks and microphones to become politicians. The two, who still await their fate are Sayoh Kamara who wants to go to parliament under the APC and Melvin Rogers who is gunning to become a legislator under the main opposition SLPP party.
The move drew sharp criticism from the public some of whom called the decision by the journalists “a betrayal”.
