By Joseph S. Margai in Freetown, Sierra Leone
The Citizens Democratic Party (CDP), will today, Saturday, October 21st, hold its national convention for the election of national officers, but the party remains indecisive over who they want to be their standard-bearer.
The much-awaited event, which will take place at Changes Complex in the east of Freetown, has been preempted to be conducted on a platform of free, fair and transparent manner.
The CDP in August and September this year conducted its lower level elections for district and constituency executives across the 14 political districts in the country, which has qualified the executives to elect their national officers in the Saturday convention.
National Organizing Secretary of the party, Julius Augustine Donnie, in an exclusive interview with our Correspondent, said at the Saturday convention they will have to elect their national chairman and leader and his deputy, secretary-general and his deputy, organizing secretary and deputy, public relations officer, women’s leader, among other officers.
“We will also have to approve the district and constituency executives at the much-awaited event,” he said.
He disclosed that there are some people who have expressed interest in the various positions.
Even though he did not say the exact date for the conduct of the standard-bearer election, Julius Augustine Donnie said they have postponed the election of the standard bearer until they hold further consultations with stakeholders of the party.
He said CDP expects the public to go and witness the uniqueness of the party by observing the conduct of the process, as they will not be doing selection but election because it’s what their constitution stipulates.
“At our convention, we are not going to accuse the ruling All People’s Congress (APC) party or the main opposition Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) of anything but we will follow the new ideology to change the system of business as usual,” he said.
He said that they have close to 350 delegates that will have to take part in the election of the national officers of the party on Saturday.
Formed by late Joshua Albert Carew as a Community-Based Organization (CBO), CDP between 2011 and 2012 was transformed into a political party, after it received its certificate from the country’s Political Parties Registration Commission (PPRC).
The late founder became the first chairman and leader and subsequently the presidential candidate of the 2012 election.
Donnie boasted that after receiving their certificates six months before the conduct of the 2012 general elections, they participated and came fourth with 24,658 valid votes cast totaling to one percent (1%) of the total votes cast.
