By: Sheriff Mahmud Ismail

At the opening of its  three-day Natioanl Delegates’ Conference (NDC), the main opposition All Peoples Congress (APC), appears to be conducting itself as a government in waiting. Despite the extraordinary turn-out of its membership and supporters, the Conference has progressed without glitches.

It follows its highly animated opening ceremony this morning, which was buoyed by the incredibly moving and hope-giving address by its illustrious erstwhile Chairman and leader, former President of Ernest Bai Koroma.

This afternoon, the Conference resumed to its Second Session of Day One with voting for the non-executive members of the Party’s National Advisory Committee and those of its Independent Election Management Committee.

The proceedings started with Mohamed Sesay, a member of the APC Transitional Independent Interim Elections Management Committee (TIIEMC), announcing that the day’s voting will be for the Independent Elections Management Committee (IEMC) and non-executive  members of the party’s National Advisory Committee. He then proposed that the unresolved membership issues be addressed the next day, along with the voting for national officers and flag bearer.

After the Conference had unanimously agreed to the proposed motion,  another member of the TIIEMC explained the process of voting and a roll call and identification of the candidates was conducted.

The Rt. Honourable Chernor Maju Bah, the man widely believed to be re-selected as running mate, collected his ballots, along with other Members of Parliament (MPs). They started the long and panistaking process of electing their ‘Comrades’ who shall run the party’s substantive IEMC.

So far, the NDC programme is unfolding seamlessly. It’s well into the next day, at 01:15 and delegates a wide awake as they cast their votes. It is very clear by this top -notched organisational capacity, endurance that APC is making a strong statement about how determined it is not only to win the June 24 elections, but also its readiness to govern.