Thousands of supporters of the main opposotion Sierra Leone People's party thronged the streets of Freetown yesterday to celebrate the nomination of their presidential candidate Brigadier General (Rtd) Julius Maada Bio and his running-mate Dr Kadi Sesay.
The National Electoral Commission yesterday certified both candidates as duly nominated to run for the main opposition Sierra Leone People's Party in the 17 November 2012 elections.
In what has been a busy moment for NEC and in a process which started late last week and will continue till 14 October 2012, the Unted Democratic Movement, United National People's Party, the Revolutionary United Front Party and the People's Movement for Democratic Change nominated their candidates over the weekend.
During the nomination, Bio made a pick from a box which slated him to talk on service delivery and access to the people of Sierra Leone. “Of course what we have failed to do in the past… is to have an efficient system that will be able to effectively deliver these services to our people.”
He said the essence of that was to create trust between the people and the government.
“There is a social contract between the government and the people and one of the commitments is for the government to be able to deliver services. And when government delivers its service to the electorate very effectively that creates trust and of course legitimacy comes...which cannot be done without the participation of the women,” Bio said.
He said he would respect the result of the elections if the process was free and transparent. He said he had confidence in the electoral process so far.
The opposition challenger said he would ensure an efficient system to move the country forward and criticised the current government for allegedly entrenching tribalism which he said had divided the country. He spoke about the country's economy which he said taken a nosedive, ensuring he would bring about employment and build the human capital through education. He pledged that his supporters would never be involved in any acts of violence throughout the electoral cycle. Bio committed himself to a repeal of the Criminal and Seditious Libel Law and the speedy promulgation of the Freedom of Information Law. His running-mate, Dr Sesay said that as a woman she was representing the majority of the country's population, and promised to be the voice of her colleagues and children.
The RUF party, led by Eldred Collins alongside his running mate, were the first party to have successfully completed their nomination process on Saturday.
The People's Movement for Democratic Change did theirs on Sunday 7 October 2012. Nominations which started late last week end on 14 October 2012.
