Chericoco Gets Running-Mate Ticket Again

By: Christian Conteh

The nation has been buzzing with speculation about who the running mate to Dr Samura Kamara, Presidential candidate of the All Peoples Congress Party (APC) would be, with tensions running high and expectations on tenterhooks from prospective candidates. One candidate told me he wasn’t able to sleep at night as he imagined what the ultimate decision would be.

Officially on Monday 13th March, as anticipated, the party (APC) finally broke the news that Dr. Kamara after consultation with the party’s National Advisory Council NAC had chosen his running mate, and it was none other than Chernor Ramadan Maju Bah popularly known as Chericoco.

Hon Abdul Kargbo, a member of NAC and a current member of parliament tweeted the news to his followers, sharing that out of the five women and six men who had vied for the position of running mate, Chericoco had been chosen.

“Out of 5 women and 6 men who wanted to be running mates of APC Dr. Samura Kamara announces Hon. Chericoco as his Running Mate. Hon Komboh Kamara was endorsed as National Campaign Chairman for the June 24 Elections.”

The news was met with mixed reactions. Some celebrated the decision, praising Chericoco’s track record of leadership and his ability to rally voters behind the APC. Others were disappointed that the party had not chosen a female running mate, as there had been a strong push for gender equality in Sierra Leone’s political landscape.

Meanwhile, Hon. Komboh Kamara, a seasoned politician and loyal member of the party, was endorsed as the National Campaign Chairman for the upcoming elections. He would be responsible for leading the charge against the opposition party and rallying voters behind the APC.

Earlier on President Julius Maada Bio had chosen his vice president Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh as his running mate. Juldeh Jalloh a political unknown before 2018 has gradually found his footing in politics and has closely associated with people in Port Loko a political stronghold of the APC and Kono a district that is usually considered a swing state.